The planned WiMax rollout in the UK could be delayed due to objections by O2 and T-Mobile.
OfCom had originally planned to auction the 2.6Ghz spectrum for WiMax in July, but has announced that the auction could be delayed until at least September due to legal action by the two operators.
O2 & T-Mobile’s complaints centre on them not being able to adequately value to WiMax spectrum. OfCom is also planning to re-auction some of the 900MHz GSM spectrum. Until the exact details of this ‘re-farming’ are revealed, say O2 & T-Mobile, they can’t tell how valuable the new WiMax spectrum is going to be and cannot therefore place a sensible bid.
Some industry commentators have pointed out, however, that it would be to established operators advantage to see the auction delayed as this would prevent a new WiMax operator from gaining a foothold before they were ready to roll out their Long Term Evolution (LTE) network - seen as the successor to 3G.
Either way - no WiMax for a while, which is a shame. OfCom does seem eager to get tihngs moving though. “We are seeking an expedited timeframe for the legal action to be heard,” said a spokesperson.
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