Qualcomm on Friday announced it has acquired 40 MHz of U.K. spectrum in the 1.4 GHz band. It will initially be used for the development of as-yet-unannounced wireless broadband technologies.

Qualcomm paid £8.3 million (US$16.1 million), and will use the spectrum for research and development, according to Andrew Gilbert, executive vice president at Qualcomm Europe.

"We want to use the spectrum to explore extensions and evolutions of our current technology path, and also new technologies and applications," said Gilbert.

The company will look at how peer-to-peer networking can be used in mobile networks, how capacity and in-building coverage can be improved, as well as broadcasting, according Gilbert. He declined to be more specific.

Qualcomm also hopes to work with operators who are interested in launching services.

"That would be great, there is enough spectrum do that. They would be the operator, but we would be able to offer the technology asset and now the spectrum asset as well," said Gilbert.

But the company is not in a rush to do so, according to Gilbert. "We are not on a strict timetable," he said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.