UK regulator Ofcom is considering plans to make the 2500-2690 MHz (2.6 GHz) frequency band temporarily available for wireless cameras and broadcasting use during the London 2012 Games. Ofcom anticipates that demand for access to the spectrum suited to wireless camera applications will be exceptionally high, while mobile broadband data services are not likely to be widely deployed before the Games. A final decision will take effect following a four-week consultation period.

Summary
The London 2012 Games take place between 27 July and 9 September 2012. During this period, and the periods immediately before and after the Games, the demand for access to spectrum suited to wireless camera applications will be exceptionally high. The Government has guaranteed to the International Olympic Committee that sufficient spectrum will be made available, but matching demand and supply remains challenging.

Ofcom's Spectrum Plan for the London 2012 Games was published in October 2009 (-1-). Our Spectrum Plan aimed to satisfy demand for spectrum for wireless cameras particularly since we had identified additional spectrum already widely in use for this application. Since then, experience at the Vancouver 2010 Games, further growth in the use of wireless cameras in sports coverage, plans for airborne television coverage and the emergence of 3-dimensional television makes it likely that the spectrum demand may be greater than we had predicted.

Ofcom's Spectrum Plan did not include the band 2500-2690 MHz (the 2.6 GHz band) even though the band is highly suitable for wireless cameras and is currently used for this application. The band was not included in Ofcom's Spectrum Plan because of plans to make the band available for commercial use within the timescale of the London 2012 Games. At the time we published the Spectrum Plan we therefore judged the opportunity cost of reserving this spectrum for the Games to be high.

The Government's plans for an award process have now been clarified, and the award of these frequencies is now expected at the end of 2011. In addition, an upgrade programme to radars at 2.7 GHz is required to permit widespread deployment of mobile or broadband services at 2.6 GHz, and this programme is unlikely to be complete before the end of 2012. We therefore believe that the opportunity cost of reserving this band for the London 2012 Games has reduced significantly. There appears little realistic prospect of using 2.6 GHz to deploy new mobile or broadband data services widely to UK citizens and consumers before the Games; and not reserving the band for the London 2012 Games, in the absence of any significant deployment of new mobile or broadband data services, could be a serious loss to the broadcasting coverage of the Games and to citizens and consumers in the UK and world-wide.

Before taking a decision to reserve the 2.6 GHz band for the London 2012 Games we are seeking confirmation from stakeholders that doing so would not impose any significant opportunity cost to UK citizens and consumers, for example by restricting the deployment of new mobile or broadband data services. We believe that our proposal will be relatively uncontentious. We have therefore set the consultation period at four weeks.