UK opens up ultra-wide band

The UK government has announced that it is to open up the ultra-wide band for public use – opening the floodgates for a new wave of more powerful wireless devices from August 13th.

The band, which up until now had been available for public use, albeit through the use of controlled licenses, was reserved for use by military and government bodies.

Ofcom’s Chief Executive Ed Richards said: "where possible, we want to remove restrictions on the use of spectrum to allow the market to develop new and innovative services, such as UWB, for the benefit of consumers."

No devices have been announced that will take advantage of the newly available spectrum.