It's auction week! UK regulator Ofcom today announced plans to release a total of 205 MHz of 2.6 GHz spectrum for use in WiMax or 3G services, with the spectrum to be awarded next summer.

"There are no regulatory restrictions on trading the spectrum or on which services can be run over what will be the UK's largest ever release of spectrum," writes Reuters' Kirstin Ridley.

"There are industry Rumours that BT will be bidding for the spectrum in an effort to join the ranks of the mobile operators again," writes VNUnet's Dave Bailey. "When contacted about the auction, a BT spokesperson said, 'We are aware of the WiMax auction but the official line is that no decision has yet being taken on whether we would be bidding for radio spectrum.'"

More here from Tech.co.uk ... more here from Forbes ... more here from CNET.co.uk ... and the press release is here.