1.4 GHz spectrum auction: Ofcom’s no-cap decision and the 2027 sale
In short: the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction will offer a single 25 MHz block, the range 1492 to 1517 MHz, of supplementary downlink capacity for 4G and 5G mobile. Ofcom decided on 11 June 2026 to sell it by sealed-bid auction with no spectrum cap and a £5m reserve. It expects to consult on the draft Auction Regulations in summer 2026 and to hold the auction in the first half of 2027.
More mobile capacity spectrum is coming to auction in the UK, and for operators the questions that matter are who can bid for it and on what terms. The terms of the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction are now largely set. The upper 25 MHz of the 1.4 GHz band will be sold as a single lot, by sealed bid, with no spectrum cap and a £5m reserve. Ofcom confirmed the decision in its statement of 11 June 2026, expects to consult on the draft Auction Regulations in summer 2026, and plans to run the auction in the first half of 2027. The winner will not be able to switch the spectrum on until 11 June 2027 at the earliest.
Key findings
- Ofcom will auction the upper 25 MHz block of the 1.4 GHz band, the range 1492 to 1517 MHz, for 4G and 5G mobile use. Source: Ofcom 1.4 GHz statement, 11 June 2026.
- The block is supplementary downlink (SDL) spectrum, harmonised internationally for downlink only, suited to adding capacity where coverage is patchy, indoors and in rural areas. Source: Ofcom 1.4 GHz statement, paragraph 3.2.
- The lower 40 MHz of the band (1452 to 1492 MHz) is already licensed to VodafoneThree and Virgin Media O2. Source: Ofcom 1.4 GHz statement, paragraph 2.1.
- Ofcom decided to include no competition measures in the auction: no spectrum cap and no set-aside. Source: Ofcom 1.4 GHz statement, paragraph 2.18.
- The auction will be a sealed-bid, single-round auction with a second-price rule, awarding the 25 MHz as a single lot with a £5m reserve. Source: Ofcom 1.4 GHz statement, paragraph 2.19.
- Ofcom expects to consult on draft Auction Regulations in summer 2026 and to hold the auction in the first half of 2027. Source: Ofcom 1.4 GHz statement, paragraph 1.1.
| Feature | What Ofcom has decided |
|---|---|
| Spectrum on offer | 1492 to 1517 MHz (upper 25 MHz of the 1.4 GHz band), supplementary downlink |
| Lot structure | Single 25 MHz lot |
| Auction format | Sealed bid, single round, second-price rule |
| Reserve price | £5m |
| Competition measures | None (no cap, no set-aside) |
| Licence term | Indefinite; revocable on spectrum-management grounds on five years’ notice, no earlier than 20 years after award |
| Earliest deployment | On or after 11 June 2027 |
| Next step / auction | Draft Auction Regulations consultation summer 2026; auction first half of 2027 |
What Ofcom has decided
Ofcom has decided to auction the upper 25 MHz block of the 1.4 GHz band, the range 1492 to 1517 MHz, for mobile use. The decision, published on 11 June 2026, follows a 2023 call for input, an award consultation in February 2025 and a competition-assessment consultation in July 2025. The lower 40 MHz of the band (1452 to 1492 MHz) is already deployed by UK mobile network operators, and the new block sits next to spectrum used for satellite services, so coexistence with those services shapes the licence conditions as much as the sale itself.
The block is supplementary downlink spectrum. Supplementary downlink (SDL) is harmonised internationally for downlink only, meaning it carries data from base stations to handsets rather than in both directions. That makes it useful for adding capacity in busy or hard-to-reach locations rather than for building coverage from scratch, which is why Ofcom expects it to improve mobile performance indoors and in rural areas. The lower 40 MHz is already licensed to VodafoneThree and Virgin Media O2, so the upper block is the part of the band that the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction will sell.
How the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction will run, and what the winner takes on
Ofcom will run the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction as a sealed-bid, single-round auction with a second-price rule. The 25 MHz is offered as a single lot, with a reserve price of £5m, and the highest bid wins. The auction is run through regulations made under section 14 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, which gives Ofcom the power to require licence applications to be made by competitive bid, exercised consistently with its general duties under the Communications Act 2003. The draft Auction Regulations are the live legal instrument: Ofcom expects to consult on them in summer 2026 and to hold the auction in the first half of 2027.
The licence the winner takes is indefinite, revocable on spectrum-management grounds on five years’ notice and not before 20 years after the award. Coexistence is the harder condition the winner accepts. The adjacent 1.5 GHz band (1518 to 1559 MHz) carries Inmarsat satellite receivers, now operated by Viasat, used for maritime and aviation safety systems. To protect them, the licence imposes power flux density limits in defined zones around the coastline and 32 named airports, with coordination calculations required for base stations in those zones. Those limits relax in phases, around airports on 1 January 2034 and around the coastline on 1 January 2043, and the winner cannot deploy anywhere before 11 June 2027. For the buyer, the value of the spectrum turns partly on how much of its footprint sits inside the constrained zones and for how long.
Competition: Ofcom decides not to intervene
Ofcom decided to include no competition measures in the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction, neither a spectrum cap nor a set-aside. It concluded that the small amount of spectrum, 25 MHz, and its downlink-only technical profile make an award outcome that harms competition in the mobile market unlikely. That reasoning is set out in the competition assessment Ofcom consulted on in July 2025 and confirmed in the statement.
The decision is worth pausing on because it lands in a changed market. The UK now has three mobile network groups rather than four following the merger of Vodafone and Three into VodafoneThree, and the lower 40 MHz of the 1.4 GHz band is already held by VodafoneThree and Virgin Media O2, so BT and EE hold none of it. Ofcom has the power under section 14(3)(d) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 to make regulations restricting how much spectrum any one bidder can hold, and it has used spectrum caps in larger awards such as the 2021 award of 700 MHz and 3.6 GHz. Here it chose not to, on the view that a single small SDL block does not materially affect competition. In practice any operator can bid, and the second-price rule fixes what the winner pays, so the award turns on price.
Viewpoint
The notable feature of this decision is not the extra spectrum but Ofcom’s choice to leave the auction open, with no cap, in a market that has just consolidated to three operators. In capacity-band auctions of this kind the regulator rarely reaches for the competition levers, and Ofcom has not done so here even with the lower block already split between two of the three. That is a defensible reading of a 25 MHz downlink-only allocation, and it is consistent with how Ofcom has treated supplementary capacity bands before. What remains to compete over is price and the coexistence conditions attached to the licence.
The statement settles the format and the absence of a cap, but the regulations are where the detail of the bid procedure, the deposit and refund rules, and any fitness requirements are fixed, and they are the document an operator’s advisers will actually read before bidding. For anyone weighing a bid, the harder commercial question is not the reserve but the value of a footprint that cannot be switched on before June 2027 and that carries indefinite coordination obligations around the coast and the major airports.
Frequently asked questions
What spectrum is in the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction?
The auction covers the upper 25 MHz block of the 1.4 GHz band, the range 1492 to 1517 MHz. It is supplementary downlink spectrum, used to add 4G and 5G capacity in one direction, from base station to handset. The lower 40 MHz of the band (1452 to 1492 MHz) is already licensed to VodafoneThree and Virgin Media O2 and is not part of this sale.
Is there a spectrum cap in the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction?
No. Ofcom decided to include no competition measures, so there is no spectrum cap and no set-aside. It judged that a single 25 MHz downlink-only block is too small and too limited in use to produce an award outcome that harms competition. Any UK mobile network operator can bid.
When will the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction take place?
Ofcom expects to consult on the draft Auction Regulations in summer 2026 and to hold the auction in the first half of 2027. The winning bidder will not be authorised to deploy the spectrum before 11 June 2027, to give satellite users in the adjacent band time to prepare.
Why does the licence limit where the spectrum can be used?
The adjacent 1.5 GHz band carries satellite receivers used for maritime and aviation safety. To prevent blocking interference, the licence imposes power flux density limits in zones around the coastline and 32 named airports, with coordination obligations for base stations inside those zones. The limits relax in phases, around airports in 2034 and the coastline in 2043.
How we can help
If you are assessing the 1.4 GHz spectrum auction, the draft Auction Regulations or the coexistence conditions attaching to the licence, Bratby Law advises mobile operators and infrastructure investors on spectrum awards and licensing. Contact Rob Bratby at Bratby Law.
