Vodafone and O2 are locked in a bitter row the telecoms regulator Ofcom over the proposed division of their 900 Mhz bandwidth which is currently owned by the two leading mobile broadband operators. The row was broken out after the government release plans to provide broadband Internet access to every home in the UK by 2012 with the 900 Mhz bandwidth a main component of the project.
Ofcom has given Vodafone and O2 three months to negotiate a deal with mobile broadband competitors otherwise they will face the prospect of an Ofcom ruling which will see them give up 14% of their bandwidth share to competitors. While the regulator estimates that the loss of bandwidth will cost £90 million between Vodafone and O2, the operators believe it would cost each of them between £60 million and £90 million which is a significant difference to the Ofcom estimate.
The bandwidth is in demand because it is the most suitable for transmitting large quantities of data across long distances and a vital element of the rural wireless Internet service which the government is looking to introduce. While there is speculation that Ofcom may be softening its demands there is still concern that the Vodafone broadband and O2 broadband services will be disadvantaged in the future.