The WiMAX Forum today announced its strong support for the position taken by Rt. Hon Stephen Timms, Minister for Digital Britain, and the UK government directing Ofcom to release the 800 MHz, "Digital Dividend" and 2.6 GHz bands.
The WiMAX Forum believes that it is in the best interest of the UK to release part of the 2.6 GHz spectrum ahead and separately from any combined 800 MHz / 2.6 GHz award, as previously planned. Currently, the UK government intends to direct Ofcom to auction the 2.6 GHz 50MHz TDD part of the band, as a single block, in advance of the combined auction for the remaining spectrum.
"The auction of new spectrum will speed up the deployment of next generation mobile broadband, benefiting consumers across the country," said Ron Resnick (photo), president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum. "Following years of uncertainty and deliberations leading to the publication of the Digital Britain Report and the Independent Spectrum Broker’s Report, we congratulate the government in establishing what we believe to be the best possible compromise meeting the needs of government, industry and most importantly the people."
The WiMAX Forum® is hopeful that Parliament will expedite approval to allow Ofcom to release the 2.6 GHz TDD spectrum in 2010.
Today, more than 115 million people in Europe are covered by 153 WiMAX deployments and adoption of WiMAX continues to grow thanks to an increase in spectrum allocations made in 2009. WiMAX networks can be deployed quickly and more cost effectively compared to wired alternatives.
Currently, WiMAX Forum tracks more than 559 WiMAX network deployments in 147 countries. A complete detail of WiMAX networks is available at http://www.wimaxmaps.com.
About the WiMAX Forum
The WiMAX Forum® is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization formed to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products based upon the harmonized IEEE 802.16e/ETSI HiperMAN standard. A WiMAX Forum goal is to accelerate the introduction of these systems into the marketplace. WiMAX Forum Certified products are interoperable and support broadband fixed, nomadic, portable and mobile services.
Along these lines, the WiMAX Forum works closely with service providers and regulators to ensure that WiMAX Forum Certified systems meet customer and government requirements. Through the WiMAX Forum Congress Events Series of global trade shows and events, the WiMAX Forum is committed to furthering education, training and collaboration to expand the reach of the WiMAX ecosystem. For more information, visit the trade show link at www.wimaxforum.org.
