While the entry of new players into the spectrum arena will undoubtedly benefit the economy, it will be interesting to see how these companies go about installing their network infrastructure.
In a market that will only become more competitive, a robust and resilient network that can offer maximum capacity, low latency and maximum bandwidth will be essential to the success of all new entrants. This network will not only provide a solid differentiating selling point for new entrants, but will also be at the heart of providing the UK with a truly best in class 4G network.
With this in mind it will be interesting to see how the new parties proceed. The option to build their own state of the art networks to deliver a best in class 4G offering will take longer, but will benefit the country, particularly rural Britain in line with Ofcom’s expectations.
Alternatively the companies could decide to lease their network and focus instead on building and maintaining their own mobile base stations, which would bring the competitive 4G market to fruition faster ensuring overall connectivity improves.
Whatever choice the new entrants make, ensuring their core network and mobile backhaul abilities are built using the latest and greatest network infrastructure technology must be at the centre of their plans. This will be critical to the UK developing a world beating 4G market place that can rolled out in an adequate timeframe and deliver effective solutions to every last corner of the UK.