Ofcom has announced that UK telecoms companies will have the opportunity to bid for the rights to the 5G mobile network spectrum later this year.
The fifth-generation mobile network is expected to help ready the world for the so-called 'internet of things', which 4G does not have the capacity for. 5G's high-frequency bandwidth will be able to connect driverless cars and smart houses, as well as smartphones, which currently use 4G to connect users to the internet.
The UK rollout of the network isn't expected until 2020, but competition to be the biggest player is already mounting. Both Three and O2 want Ofcom to cap the amount of the 5G spectrum that EE, now owned by BT (BT.A), and Vodafone (VOD) will be allowed to own. EE, which was the first company to roll out 4G, already owns 45 per cent of the country's spectrum and Vodafone has 28 per cent.