Ofcom has revised proposals for its fourth-generation mobile spectrum auction, adding measures that could bring coverage to 98% of the UK.
The regulator said the winning bidder will have to provide the high-speed coverage to current “not-spot” areas.
It said the measures would help bring fast mobile internet to parts of the country that are underserved.
The bidding process for the spectrum is still scheduled for the end of this year, Ofcom said.
A 10-week consultation period into the revisions will now begin ahead of Ofcom’s final decision on the precise details of the …

Mobile operator O2 is to provide free internet to “millions” of residents and visitors in central London by launching Europe’s largest free wi-fi zone.
The service will be rolled out across the boroughs of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea in 2012.
It will be powered by a system installed on street furniture.
O2 said the deal, which will have no cost to the taxpayer, will enable visitors to “make the most of what London has to offer”.
Councillor Philippa Roe, cabinet member for strategic finance at Westminster City Council, said: “Westminster welcomes over a …

The mobile network O2 has started testing a next-generation mobile data service in London.
The nine month trial will involve hundreds of consumers and businesses using a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network across parts of the city.
O2 says its LTE downloads will be many times faster than those over 3G.
The news comes a fortnight after MPs urged O2 and other operators to stop fighting over how 4G airwaves should be shared out.
The experiment is an extension of O2′s LTE trials in Slough, west of the capital, which began in 2009.
Participants will be given …

Africa is the fastest-growing mobile market in the world, and is the biggest after Asia, an association of worldwide mobile phone operators has said.
The number of subscribers on the continent has grown almost 20% each year for the past five years, the GSM Association report on Africa says.
It expects there will be more than 735 million subscribers by the end of 2012.
Analysts say bad and expensive landline connections in Africa are responsible for the high mobile phone usage.
Peter Lyons, GSMA’s director of spectrum policy for Africa and Middle East, told …

A group of MPs has called on the UK mobile phone operators to quit squabbling and get on with rolling out 4G networks.
In a report published by the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the MPs also questioned whether Everything Everywhere should be able to profit from selling some of the spectrum it currently holds under license.
The criticism comes weeks after Ofcom pushed back – for a second time – the 4G auctions designed to allocate spectrum to the service providers to improve mobile networks.
Ofcom blamed the delay on “a number of substantial and …

Almost half of UK internet users are going online via mobile phone data connections, according to the Office for National Statistics.
45% of people surveyed said they made use of the net while out and about, compared with 31% in 2010.
The most rapid growth was among younger people, where 71% of internet-connected 16 to 24-year-olds used mobiles.
Domestic internet use also rose. According to the ONS, 77% of households now have access to a net connection.
That figure was up 4% from the previous year, representing the slowest rate of growth since the …

Mobile operator Three is giving away 3G broadband to rural areas struggling to get fixed line services.
Initially it plans to give 11 communities in the UK free dongles and access for a year.
It claims the initiative is part of its commitment to government, which wants to ensure isolated communities have decent broadband services.
But some experts think it has more to do with a desire to lobby Westminster for valuable wireless spectrum.
First to benefit will be residents of Gringley-on-the-Hill in North Nottinghamshire who will receive 30 dongles and free data access …

A BBC crowd-sourcing survey into the state of mobile Britain suggests that 3G has some way to go before it offers comprehensive coverage across the UK.
Despite operator claims of 90% or more 3G coverage, there are still many notspots, including in major towns and cities, according to the map.
Those testers able to receive a data connection only got a 3G signal 75% of the time.
For nearly a quarter of the time they had to rely on older 2G technology.
2G is typically around ten times slower than 3G “mobile broadband”.
Mobile coverage has …

Shares in Asian makers of Android mobile phones have risen, after Google said it would buy Motorola’s handset business for $12.5bn (£7.7bn).
The agreement is expected to give the likes of HTC and Samsung Electronics a greater degree of protection against possible patent disputes.
Shares in Samsung rose more than 4%, while HTC shares were 2% higher on Tuesday.
Google is the primary developer of the Android software for mobile devices.
However, because many companies own related patents, the internet giant is open to being sued by rivals.
Its purchase of Motorola Mobility gives Google …

Cable telecoms supplier Virgin Media is taking a “punt” on rolling out free wi-fi access across parts of London.
Speaking at an investors conference, CEO Neil Berkett said the company was in “quite advanced negotiations” with London boroughs and councils to complete a “metro” roll-out of a wi-fi network in the “not too distant future”.
Berkett said it would “provide free wi-fi access for all at 0.5Mbps with full access to Virgin Media customers up to 10Mbps”.
“We may consider speaking to one of the mobile network operators for wholesaling as an activity,” he added.
Berkett …