WorldSpace, O2 and US MediaFLO operator Qualcomm are amongst the nine bidders for L-Band spectrum in the UK. 

UK spectrum authority Ofcom on April 18 published the list of nine “qualified” bidders for L-Band (1452-1492 MHz spectrum) in the UK. Today (April 21) is the last day for bidders to withdraw, and it’s likely that these nine will be full bidders. The bidders will have paid an initial £50,000 deposit, which they have to increase more or less in line with their bids. The original scheme was that the frequencies would be auctioned this time last year.

Ofcom has split the spectrum in 16 small parcels, 15 of 1.7MHz and one of 12.5MHz (probably best directed at a player like WorldSpace). The full list comprises:

Adolphus Ltd
Arqiva
E-Portal Holdings KSC
MLL Telecom
O2 (UK) Ltd
Qualcomm UK Spectrum Ltd
The Joint Radio Company Ltd
Vectone Network Ltd
WorldSpace UK Ltd

As to an analysis of who some of the more obscure runners and riders are, it seems that Adolphus is registered to a lawyers office in Mayfair, London, while E-Portal Holdings is a Kuwaiti business. Arqiva is a well-known transmission company, backed by Australia’s Macquarie Bank. MLL Telecom is an enterprise supplier of telecoms services to, amongst others, the National Health Service, emergency services and local authorities.

O2 is a UK mobile service operator, that’s also keen to get into DVB-H services. The Joint Radio Company supplies some spectrum for Britain’s power-stations. Vectone is a Scandinavian-Benelux MVNO.

Qualcomm backs its MediaFLO mobile TV system in the US and has made no secret of its wish to enter the UK, and is on record as saying that it would be looking to partner BSkyB with a British T-DAB/MediaFLO operation. Qualcomm is in a similar relationship in Japan.

We have tracked WorldSpace closely in these pages, and the satellite radio broadcaster has recently won similar terrestrial spectrum and licences in Italy, Germany and Switzerland, and is looking at similar licences in France and now Britain. WorldSpace’s satellites operate in the L-Band and it is seeking ground-based capacity in accordance with the CEPT Maastricht 2002 (Radio) Frequency Plan – which the UK is not a signatory to!