The Audit 2005

The Chancellor announced in his December 2004 Pre-Budget Report that Professor Martin Cave would conduct an Independent Audit of Spectrum Holdings, with the aim of releasing the maximum amount of spectrum to the market and increasing opportunities for the development of innovative new services.

The final report was published alongside the 2005 Pre Budget Report and can be accessed through the link to the left. It makes over 50 recommendations, and focuses primarily on public sector holdings, which account for roughly half of the total spectrum in bands that the Audit has investigated (below 15GHz). The Government welcomed the report and published its response, which was produced in consultation with Ofcom, which was produced with the Budget on 22 March 2006. The response can be accessed here.

Government will work alongside Ofcom to implement the Audit�s recommendations.

The Audit builds on the principles set out in Martin Cave�s 2002 Review of Radio Spectrum Management, which focused mainly on commercial spectrum, and also Ofcom�s Spectrum Framework Review and Spectrum Framework Implementation Plan (both published in 2005).

The Audit published a consultation document in July 2005, which is available on this website along with the publicly available responses to the consultation. Also accessible here are reports on bandsharing and commercial demand for spectrum, which were produced as supporting documents for the Audit.