British regulator Ofcom has stopped short of proposing to relax relatively tough third-generation (3G) mobile phone licence rules but wants only to revoke licences in cases of "serious" non-compliance.
"Ofcom suggests that licence revocation is only likely to be proportionate in serious cases of non-compliance, not least given the serious consequences that this could have for existing customers of any licence," Ofcom said today in a consultation document.
Mobile phone companies such as mmO2 Plc have urged the regulator to ease licence obligations, under which they have to build costly, high-speed 3G mobile phone networks covering 80 percent of the population by the end of 2007.
Ofcom made the comments in a statement also seeking industry views on plans to allocate new mobile phone spectrum, including frequency bands that can be used for 3G-style mobile services such as video calls, high-resolution pictures and speedy Internet access.
The proposals are part of Ofcom's plans to overhaul 100-year-old regulations governing the country's radio frequency spectrum by removing curbs on how it is bought, sold and used to encourage innovation and competition.