Shadow Minister, Helen Goodman MP, told ISPreview.co.uk:

"We had the auction ready to go in 2010 but this Government decided that it could not give Ofcom the back up to go ahead with the sale of 4G.

Consumers need better mobile coverage, particularly in rural areas and the country needs more money. It is disappointing that it has taken the Government 18 months to get on with the auction.

The sale of this mobile phone spectrum not only raises capital estimated to be between £2 and 4 billion, but also revenues that Helen Goodman estimates amount to £300 million a year for the taxpayer.

At a time of deep cuts to the public sector the Government is in effect losing almost £1 million of revenue a day. We will be one of the last major countries in Europe to get 4G coverage, which is shameful because Britain is one of the largest producers of mobile phone technology

In their new Communications Green Paper the Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt needs to make sure that Ofcom has all the powers it needs to regulate for a competitive market, and not be held up by threats of legal challenges from vested interests."