Linux:
Nope not even related, I would say they want the 5Mhz used for Sure Signal for 4G capacity
@JasonParis Maybe he could tell us more and the reason why?
They have 25 MHz in band 1 (aka 2100 MHz band). Given LTE/4G only supports up to 20 MHz in one carrier, it would make sense for them to keep 5 MHz running for UMTS/3G and use the balance of 20 MHz towards a LTE band 1 carrier. Other alternative is to run two carriers in band 1 with a total of 25 MHz.
On the other hand I recall reading somewhere that the government is planning to restructure the allocations for some bands including this one? Maybe you're right that Vodafone is planning ahead in case they lose spectrum in band 1 and need to use all they have for LTE.

