Channel Islands 5G Licensing

Channel Islands to start offering licenses and spectrums for 5G trials.

19:34 08 September 2018

The Channel Islands are currently looking for applicants for 5G innovation and spectrum licences after it secured spectrum for local operators from Ofcom.

 

The Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities (CICRA) is actively collaborating with mobile operators and local governments to create a framework for allocating licenses and spectrums for 5G trials. The goal is to ensure that the digital sectors of Guernsey and Jersey are ready to maximise the potential of 5G, which is set to be rolled out nationwide starting 2020.

 

Tim Ringsdore, Director at CICRA, said: “The announcement today…should provide a clear message to the outside world that the Channel Islands is open for new business and we will encourage developers from all over the world to come to the Islands and work with Digital Jersey, Greenhouse Guernsey and local operators to develop new world class solutions". 

 

Elsewhere in the UK, leading mobile operators are already engaged in 5G trials and testbeds. These include O2, which has started building its first 5G testbed at the O2 Arena in March, and BT/EE, which has formed a research partnership in 2016 to run 5G trials at ten sites in collaboration with Huawei.