COMPETITION in the mobile phone market looks set to intensify as the owner of T-Mobile and Orange is set to steal a march on its rivals after being given permission to launch superfast mobile internet.
Everything Everywhere has been told by regulator Ofcom that it can use some of its existing spectrum for 4G services from later this year - before the industry’s auction of airwaves due to take place in 2013.
Rival Vodafone said it was shocked by Ofcom’s decision but the regulator argued that allowing Everything’s application to vary its existing licence was in the best interests of consumers.
Ofcom’s auction, which is due to start later this year, will give access to the fourth generation, or 4G, network, to at least 98 per cent of people across the UK, enabling users to download data - such as music and high-definition films - at much faster speeds.
The auction will offer the equivalent of three-quarters of the mobile spectrum currently in use - some 80 per cent more than released in the 3G auction which took place in 2000.
Everything, which is the UK’s largest operator with around 27 million customers, will be allowed to offer 4G services from September 11, although Ofcom said the timing will be a commercial decision for the company itself.