Ofcom is more "con" than "com"
"Ofcom did so on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis that suggest that an operator in the 2100Ghz range sites could be competitive with one in the 900Mhz range if it had three times as many sites."
So if I operate three times as many sites as a 900Mhz operator, I'll be competitive? How can a company that needs three times as many assets, and presumably around three times the operating costs, be "competitive"?
And how can the future prospect of 800MHz spectrum (which can't be used by current handsets AFAIK) be compared with the allocation of 900MHz now? By the time 800MHz auction comes around, Three will be in no shape to bid.
The comments from the Barclays Capital analyst show just how much contempt the City has for the "free market"; the government should be acting on behalf of consumers, not doing the City's dirty work at tax payer's expense!