UK's telecom regulator Ofcom has released the outcome of the principal stage of its 4G, 5G spectrum auction. EE, Telefónica, Vodafone came out as big winners. Ofcom has been running an auction of spectrum in two frequency bands: 2.3 GHz, which is usable by current 4G mobile and 3.4 GHz, which is one of the spectrum bands earmarked for 5G.

EE won 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £302,592,000. Hutchison 3G won 20 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £151,296,000. Telefónica UK won all 40 MHz of 2.3 GHz spectrum available, at a cost of £205,896,000; and 40 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £317,720,000. Vodafone has won 50 MHz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £378,240,000.

Five companies took part in the auction. Airspan Spectrum Holdings did not win spectrum in either ban.

Ofcom will now move to the ‘assignment’ stage, which allows companies to bid to determine where in the frequency bands their new spectrum will be located.

New spectrum allocation is expected to allow companies to prepare for 5G mobile, paving the way for a range of smart, connected devices (IoT).