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UK: EE and Three lose High Court cases over mobile phone caps

By  |  December 20, 2017

EE and Three have lost separate High Court cases over caps on the amount of mobile spectrum any network can control, a move which opens the door for long-awaited 4G and 5G auctions.

Both companies took issue with Ofcom’s plans to cap the amount of mobile spectrum that any operator can own at 37% – a move which BT’s EE challenged for being too rigid, while Three was concerned that the allowance was too generous.

The High Court found that Ofcom had engaged in a “detailed predictive analysis of how the market would work in the future” and consulted economic models which struck a balance between protecting consumers and competition and “setting restrictive caps which were not disproportionate to BT/EE.”

“The balance exercise was sound,” the High Court found following a three-day hearing earlier this month.

Ofcom welcomed the ruling, which had delayed its auction of airwaves to support the expansion of 4G and 5G in the UK.

Full Content: Reuters

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