Three blasts Ofcom over O2's refarmed 3G network

Mobile network operator Three has said it believes the speed at which O2 managed to refarm its 900MHz spectrum holding for 3G use since it was given the go-ahead in January underlines the problems with Ofcom's decision.

Three, which has been a vocal critic of the decision as it gave its rivals a large chunk of additional 3G spectrum, said that Ofcom's belief that it would take operators like O2 and Vodafone years to benefit from the ruling was clearly flawed.

"O2's launch of 3G services on gifted 2G spectrum just weeks after the refarm decision demonstrates the fundamental weakness of Ofcom's assumptions that it would take one to two years to take advantage of it," a spokesperson said.

"The competitive impact of the 2G refarm giveaway is far more real than Ofcom has stated and has come far earlier than it appears it was led to believe."

However, Ofcom countered Three's claims by arguing it had made it clear when advising the government in October 2010 (PDF) that O2 and Vodafone would work quickly to take advantage of the change and that forthcoming auctions could be used to redress the balance as well.

"The decision to allow operators to refarm the 2G spectrum was made by government. This was based in part on our advice, where we made it very clear that we anticipated operators making early use of this opportunity," it said.

"Importantly, this advice was predicated on the forthcoming availability of new spectrum at 800MHz and 2.6GHz, and the opportunity this will create for other parties to acquire spectrum close to 900MHz."

The regulator also said it is due to publish an assessment of the future competitiveness of the mobile market next week and within this it will address the issue of whether any measures are needed to address possible risks to competition.