EE seeks Ofcom permission to trade portion of 2.6GHz spectrum to O2

British mobile operator EE, a subsidiary of BT Group, has requested permission from regulator Ofcom to trade a surplus 25MHz block of 2600MHz band 4G spectrum (2595MHz-2620MHz) to rival O2 UK, which currently does not own any frequencies in the 2600MHz range. Ofcom has put the request up for consultation until 30 October 2020, while stating that its initial view of the proposed trade is that ‘there would be a low risk of competition concerns’. An EE spokesperson confirmed to ISPreview UK that the cellco is not currently using the specific block proposed for trading, and added: ‘This spectrum is less optimal for use given our other spectrum holdings, we have decided to prioritise our network investments in other spectrum bands as these provided a better option to deliver the capacity that’s required in our network.’