National Audit Office Plans Investigation Of Ofcom 4G Auction
NAO looks into low return from 4G auction to see if the UK’s spectrum was undersold
The National Audit Office (NAO) has confirmed to TechWeekEurope that it is investigating whether the Ofcom 4G spectrum auction achieved value for money.
The auction yielded £2.31 billion for the treasury, £1.2 billion less than it had accounted for, and significantly less than the total amount that some had suggested could be raised.
Ofcom said that the aim of the auction was not to generate revenue for the government, but to promote competition that will ensure consumers will benefit from the rollout of 4G services.
Ofcom 4G auction investigation
“The 4G auction was a success, which will deliver the maximum benefit to UK citizens and consumers – in line with Ofcom’s statutory duties,” said a spokesperson for the regulator. “It will create competition, with five companies able to launch competitive 4G services. This will lead to investment in new services, greater innovation and lower prices, plus enhanced coverage with a rule to cover almost all of the UK population by 2017 at the latest.”
“The auction was designed to promote competition and ensure coverage, rather than to raise money,” they added. “These benefits will deliver significantly more value in the long term to the UK than simply the revenue raised in the auction.”
This first appeared on TechWeekEurope UK. Read the whole story here.