O2, Vodafone and Three expressed concern about the move when EE from Ofcom in February.

The other players in the market will have to wait for UK's 4G auction, which is scheduled to begin before the end of 2012 and will allow them to bid for 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum. However, it is unlikely that Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, which will operate this spectrum for 4G services, will be rolled out by these players before mid-2013.

An O2 spokesperson said: "We are hugely disappointed with today's announcement, which will mean the majority of consumers will be excluded from the first wave of digital services. This decision undermines the competitive environment for 4G in the UK."

Meanwhile Three, the smallest player in the market, referred to Ofcom's decision at the beginning of last year, where it introduced new measures that allowed networks to refarm 2G airwaves for 3G services.

The larger networks had spare 2G spectrum and have been able to extend their capacity for 3G roaming as a result. However, Three did not have any spare spectrum and consequently is looking to obtain 4G spectrum as soon as possible.