Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has made a key decision that could see 5G network trials happen in ultra rural areas such as Orkney happen much sooner than anticipated.

The Orkney Islands, an archipelago of 70 islands off the north coast of Scotland, is consistently ranked as one of the worst areas in the UK internet connectivity league tables. The 5G Rural First project has been running trials with local businesses with custom 5G networks for the past 18 months.

Ofcom’s decision to open up unused airwaves, also known as specturm, to bidders with a legitimate use for it, could see these trials rolled out much faster. Ofcom says that the specturm will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis, with bids being accepted towards the end of the year.

If a bidder is successful they will only have to cover costs, which Ofcom says could be as little as £85 for a company wanting to create its own local network in Orkney.

Ofcom group director of spectrum, Philip Marnick said: “Mobile operators want to provide services right across the country but in some places they don’t use all the spectrum, so some of it might be available for others to use.

“We want people to be able to use spectrum as a way of deploying new services, be it in rural areas where people are doing new and interesting things or actually inside factories or offices as we go towards more industrial internet of things and 5G services, we just want people to be able to use it and do it.”

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However, some of the major networks have expressed concern over the new bidding system, with one of the major four saying it could potentially clash with its plan for the spectrum.

Three UK’s general counsel and regulatory affairs director, Stephen Lerner, said: “These ambitions must be balanced with the spectrum rights of existing users in the 3.8-4.2GHz band,

“We have exciting plans to use this spectrum to provide 5G home broadband in competition with BT and Virgin. Continued access to the band is fundamental to this ambition. We, therefore, call on Ofcom to ensure that new users do not interfere with our planned 5G deployment.”

Ofcom has said it will take appropriate measures to fully assess each big to ensure that there is no overlap of interest with other users.