BT and EE escape full mobile-auction ban

BT and its specialist mobile network EE have escaped a full ban on bidding for new mobile spectrum capacity, much to the annoyance of rival Three.

Under Ofcom proposals announced yesterday, the duo will be barred from acquiring any new airwaves in the 2.3ghz band - the "usable spectrum" that will be used to boost 4G signals, says the Financial Times.

However, they will be allowed to bid for the higher frequency 3.4ghz range "which will be used for future 5G services".

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BT and EE together control around 45 per cent of the UK's usable spectrum. Ofcom said it was concerned that if the market became "more unbalanced, this could harm competition in the next few years", says The Guardian.

Vodafone has 28 per cent of the market, while O2 has 15 per cent and Three, owned by Hong Kong's Hutchison, 12 per cent.

Three, which has demanded the regulator cap spectrum ownership at 30 per cent and introduce quotas for smaller providers, said Ofcom has shown "it is not willing to make the big decisions needed to deliver the best outcome for the UK".

Allowing "BT and Vodafone to stockpile valuable mobile airwaves" puts "genuine choice for consumers at risk", added the company.

A spokesman for EE said it "doesn't agree that competition measures should be introduced for this auction" and that it is using its large spectrum to push 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK by 2020.

Three's anger also follows Ofcom's role in its blocked buyout of O2 on competition grounds.

The UK regulator lobbied the EU to block the agreed £10bn deal in May on the grounds that reducing the number of infrastructure-owning operators would harm competition.

However, BT's £12bn buyout of EE was allowed to go ahead as it was argued there was no corresponding effect on infrastructure ownership.