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Spectrum refarming: What's it got to do with you?

Dropping 1200MHz will change your life

Lots of models, plenty of dongles

The GSMA reckons there are 216 devices that already support UMTS900, and 78 models of USB dongle. That tallies with the 207 handset models that GSM Arena lists as being compatible, including the iPhone 4 and Nokia N8 – as well as considerably cheaper models. It's the more-recent handsets, rather than the more-expensive ones, that are compatible with UMTS900. The GMSA reckons that a fifth of new, 3G, devices now support UMTS900.

UMTS1800 (or UMTS1700, which is the same thing thanks to over-simplification) is less well-endowed. Only a handful of handsets support running 3G at the frequencies owned by T-Mobile and Orange, so while Everything Everywhere will be allowed to deploy 3G in those bands, it's unlikely to bother. Everything Everywhere has also said it will sell off part of its 1800MHz holding, so the issue may not arise.

Everything Everywhere may decide not to bother given the expense of upgrading the network. The good news, for network operators, is that they already have suitable cell sites for 900MHz coverage. The bad news is that all of those sites will need a hardware upgrade - so an engineer* has to visit every one to fit the new kit, which isn't going to happen quickly.

Operators have thousands of base stations, so upgrading them will be expensive and time-consuming. Those who do decide to deploy UMTS900 will start with places where the 3G network is already congested, especially where there are few 2G-only phones being used, as well as areas where they don't have any 3G coverage at all. That could mean improved coverage for rural areas, eventually.

At one point it seemed that UK operators would skip 3G entirely and just deploy 4G technology, LTE, at 900MHz frequency while expecting users to upgrade their handsets and dongles to suit. In 2007, when this debate started, the LTE standard hadn't been completed and everyone thought the discussion would be over by Christmas. But despite the capability of 4G (LTE) kit to operate at 900MHz, the regulator has decided that the band will remain technology-locked to GSM and/or UMTS - no LTE900, at least not yet.

That will go a long way to appeasing the other operators, as it pushes 4G technology into the Digital Dividend spectrum (the old analogue TV bands) or up into 2.6GHz, which is due to be auctioned off at the same time as part of the UK mega-auction.

We asked all the UK's network operators about their plans for refarming, but none of them would discuss the matter. That's hardly surprising 'cos now the refarming issue has collided with the UK's mega auction - that auction will change the face of spectrum ownership, so it's unlikely anyone is going to deploy anything until that's over.

Vodafone and O2 will deploy UMTS900, but it will be half a decade before it matters and two years before it is even available beyond trials and tests - even then anyone with a reasonably-recent handset will be fine. Anyone hoping for early 4G deployments will probably have to wait until 2016 or so, and you'll need a new handset too: but you were probably planning to buy one before then anyway. ®

* Not the same engineer, obviously.

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