Page 108 - SAMENA Trends - October-December 2024

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

areas, based at universities across the from video game users, the SDDS will of Liverpool, with collaboration from the
country: enable research into mental health, University of Oxford and the University
• The Imagery Data Service (Imago): Led digital literacy, online community, of Edinburgh.
by professors at Newcastle University addiction, discriminatory behavior, • The Healthy and Sustainable Places
and University of Liverpool, this data and disinformation. It will be led by Data Service: Led by the University of
service combines AI and stakeholder professors at the University of York. Leeds, this project will leverage data
collaboration to develop new data • The Geographic Data Service: This sets from the retail, business, transport
products based on satellite imaging, project will bring together different and infrastructure sectors to help tackle
helping tackle challenges like urban data sources to provide insights into ongoing challenges related to health
development and social inequalities in fair and sustainable growth, focusing and sustainability in local economies.
the UK. on geographic differences and the “This investment in a new network of
• The Smart Data Donation Service challenges faced by vulnerable groups. smart data services helps put the UK at the
(SDDS): The SDDS will recruit data It will support new partnerships forefront of data-driven innovation. Data
donors to provide data securely with and coordinate a national master’s infrastructure is as critical to our shared
researchers, aiming to help develop dissertation program to help nurture prosperity as transport, water or power
evidence-based policy around online the next generation of smart data networks.
safety and digital wellbeing. Initially researchers. The project is led by
focused on 90,000 data donations professors from UCL and the University

Ofcom will Award Spectrum in the 25.1-27.5 GHz and 40.5-43.5 GHz Bands
Next Year

innovative services such as virtual reality In a previous update, Ofcom also confirmed
and factory automation, Ofcom said. that the mmWave spectrum auction will
Ofcom has also published information for not include a negotiation period during
parties considering participating in the the final assignment stage, which typically
spectrum auction, including: provides winners of spectrum with the
- practical guidance to help participants opportunity to agree that their respective
navigate the auction, including how to allocations of spectrum will be adjacent.
apply, and indicative timings for each Ofcom also previously confirmed it will not
stage of the award process; hold an auction of mmWave spectrum until
- information about the spectrum being a decision has been made by the country’s
made available and the conditions for competition authorities on a proposed
use of the spectrum; and merger between local carriers Vodafone
- information about where the spectrum and Three UK. The U.K.’s Competition
will be licensed for use. and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently
The auction will take place in 2025 and provisionally found that a multi-billion-
U.K. telecom regulator Ofcom announced Ofcom noted that it will provide a further pound commitment to upgrade the
the publication of the text of the final update on timings before the end of this network of the new entity resulting from
regulation for the upcoming spectrum of year. In September 2023, Ofcom announced the merger of local carriers Vodafone and
mmWave frequencies. This text, which that it will open these spectrum bands to Three UK across the country, including
may be subject to minor amendments, mobile technology, including 5G services, the rollout of 5G, combined with short-
will be enacted and become law in early for the provision of faster 5G speeds term customer protections could solve
2025, Ofcom said. Next year, the watchdog across 68 towns and cities across the U.K. competition concerns identified by the
will award spectrum in the 25.1-27.5 GHz Ofcom aims to award several 15-year, fixed regulator in September and allow the
and 40.5-43.5 GHz bands. The regulator term citywide licenses to use the mmWave merger to go ahead. The CMA investigation
noted that this spectrum can carry large frequencies in 68 major towns and cities provisionally found in September that the
amounts of data and has the potential across the U.K., as well as some localized merger could lead to higher prices for
to improve mobile speeds in busy areas, licenses for “low density areas” within customers and harm the position of mobile
such as train stations, football stadiums those cities via a shared access licensing virtual network operators.
and concert venues. It could also support framework, according to previous reports.

108 OCT-DEC 2024