UK regulator Ofcom has launched a new consultation proposal to reserve the LTE 2.6GHz spectrum(2500-2690MHz band) for use by wireless camera applications during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

UK regulator Ofcom has launched a new consultation proposal to reserve the LTE 2.6GHz spectrum(2500-2690MHz band) for use by wireless camera applications during the London 2012 Olympic Games. The London 2012 Games are set to take place between 27 July and 9 September 2012. 

As per regulator, the award of these frequencies is now expected at the end of 2011. However due to an required upgrade programme to radars at 2.7 GHz, widespread deployment of LTE at 2.6 GHz is unlikely to be complete before the end of 2012. 

Due to it, there appears little realistic prospect of using 2.6 GHz to deploy LTE services  before the Games. According to regulator, 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.

Ofcom’s Spectrum Plan for the London 2012 Games was published in October 2009 and aimed to satisfy demand for spectrum for wireless cameras. 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 it had predicted, says Ofcom.