The 800MHz broadcast spectrum range is being sold off by the government in an effort that will bring the UK at par with other European countries in terms of spectrum allocation for mobile broadband. This will be done by clearing up the airwaves by switching over to digital TV.

This had been in the making for quite some time now, but Ofcom officially announced just recently that it had decided to clear up the spectrum for mobile broadband.

In 2003, when the government was looking to clear up some space in the spectrum, it had only considered smaller sections, but this move by Ofcom to generously clear out 800MHz will come as great news for the country’s mobile broadband industry. Although many countries are yet to do the same, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, France, Spain and Denmark have already decided to free the entire 800 MHz band.

Lower equipment rates, better services for mobile broadband users and more opportunities for competition (click for best mobile broadband deals) and originality to thrive are some of the positives of this move. The monetary benefits of all this are estimated to be around £2.5 to £3 billion.

Although a date has not been set yet, once the spectrum is cleared, it will be sold off to the highest bidders amongst mobile broadband providers.