eBay Issues Complaint to Ofcom About Mobile Internet Coverage and Cost

eBay has apparently been moaning to Ofcom about the United Kingdom’s mobile internet.

Online auctioning site eBay is pressuring telecoms watchdog Ofcom about improving mobile internet across the country. The company this week issued a complaint to Ofcom claiming that UK companies were missing out on big money because of what it called “m-commerce not-spots.” These so-called “not spots” are rural areas of the UK where mobile spending is at least 20 percent lower than the national average and, according to the report commissioned by eBay, they account for 16 percent of the UK.

eBay reckons the nation’s poor 3G coverage is costing UK businesses and is hoping Ofcom will make sure the 4G roll-out serves the areas that are currently missing out. The company also hopes that Ofcom will be able to bring the price of data down.

Now, you might be wondering what an online-auctioning site has to do with 3G and 4G coverage, and you’d be right. eBay is worried that the poor network coverage and high cost of mobile data is discouraging customers from shopping online from their mobile devices. The site reckons that it’s costing retailers around £1.3 billion a year.

"Mobile shopping represents a massive opportunity not just for retailers, but for the economy as a whole," said eBay UK retail director Angus McCarey. "But our research shows that consumers and retailers are missing out as the cost and reliability of mobile broadband prevents shoppers from spending."

Ofcom announced in March that its plans to auction off the UK’s 4G spectrum next year. It will be the largest ever single auction of additional spectrum for mobile services in the UK, equivalent to three quarters of the mobile spectrum in use today and 80 percent more than the 3G auction, which took place in 2000. The auction will cover two separate spectrum bands – 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz. According to Ofcom, the lower frequency band is part of the digital dividend, which is being freed-up as the UK switches from analogue to digital TV, and is ideal for widespread coverage. The higher-frequency 2.6GHz band is better suited to delivering higher speeds. Combined, these two bands add up to 250MHz of additional mobile spectrum.

Ofcom will be imposing a cap on the amount of new airspace companies could win at the auction in an effort to promote fair competition and there'll also be a requirement that dictates the successful bidder extend their coverage to 95 percent of the UK population. The auction is due to start next year but a 4G rollout is not expected to happen until 2014.

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