By: MarkJ - 2 September, 2009 (1:02 PM) - Score: 1005 - Mobile Broadband

Reports from around the Internet are hinting that the government and the UKs five main mobile network operators could soon reach agreement on the final allocation of crucial Mobile Broadband radiowave spectrum (e.g. 900Mhz).

Presently 900Mhz is only owned and used by O2 and Vodafone for older 2G services (mostly voice calls). However under the Digital Britain plan this 2G spectrum could be converted for use by 3G and 4G Mobile Broadband ( UTMS , HSPA , LTE ) services too.

The advantage of such a move is obvious; you immediately gain more coverage and require fewer base stations, thus also saving money. The disadvantage is that O2 and Vodafone would lose some of their competitive edge and potentially without compensation.

Unlocking the spectrum is seen as crucial for the success of Digital Britain, which seeks a new Universal Service Commitment (USC). This USC aims to make broadband speeds of 2Mbps available to everybody in the UK by 2012 (original news).

To solve this, the government has been trying to devise an auction for the spectrum, or at least chunks of it. The details remain unclear, though various reports indicate that, following a meeting between operators and Lord Peter Mandelson, some of the key stumbling blocks could be ironed out within days.