Ofcom Auction

[geek007]

Are any of the 4 (EE, O2, Voda, 3) mobile operators using mmWave frequencies for 5G or only frequencies below 6 GHz?

Has Ofcom started an auction of higher mmWave frequencies?

 

[GavinAshford]

Ofcom “made local [26 GHz] licenses available on demand subject to coordination…No clear market demand, award is not expected to take place in 2020.”

Personally I don't see it being used widely, if at all, in the UK.
Mobile devices have to be big to accommodate the multiple antennas necessary - signal is easily blocked by hands, so need duplicated antennas, which also makes device prices high. It uses a (relative) lot of power and coverage is very limited.
While some of those disadvantages may be mitigated through developments over time, I believe the main target for mmWave was very densely populated places like stadiums, arenas etc, but given that I don't think anyone is expecting massive mass gatherings in the short term I'd imagine those plans are being re-thought too.
Where it may make sense now is for FWA installations, but given that's such a niche use-case I'm not sure its a very viable target market either.

 

[geek007]

Currently,the average 5G download speeds in UK are approx. 100-150 Mbps.

The speeds are expected to increase to around a Gig (1000 Mbps) when Frequency Range 2 (FR2 - 24 GHz to 40 GHz) is fully implemented

- not sure if Ofcom has already auctioned these frequencies or not?

5G NR frequency bands - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

mmWave's main application is believed to be Gig speeds (closely matching fiber) via "Fixed Wireless Access" to homes.

Only 3.5 millions homes in UK have full fiber connections. The rest may do well with fixed wireless access (5G).