Qualcomm's UK spectrum buy to fuel development

US mobile provider Qualcomm said has bought 40 MHz of UK spectrum at a cost of 8.3 million.

Qualcomm said it would use the chunk of 1.4 GHz L-band radio spectrum, suitable broadband speed wireless access, mobile television or satellite radio to develop new technologies.

"Winning this licence creates an opportunity for Qualcomm to explore emerging business models and advanced mobile technologies," said John Caterer, UK managing director for Qualcomm Europe.

The firm wants to work with operators looking to launch new services, although it would not elaborate on what these might be.

"If we can help the market to harness this potential, we will see additional opportunities for service providers using a variety of technologies. This will ultimately benefit consumers, offering them high quality services and a range of creative applications."

The use of peer-to-peer networking over mobile networks, improved capacity and in-building coverage and multimedia broadcasting could be potential areas of development, according to Andrew Gilbert, executive vice president of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm Internet Services, MediaFLO Technologies and Qualcomm Europe. But he added: "We are not on a strict timetable."

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom opened the bidding for its fifth award of spectrum in the L-Band (1452-1492 MHz) in March, as part of its efforts to fuel wireless technology innovation in the UK.