4G rollout expected this year
EVERYTHING Everywhere could roll out the next generation of mobile network (4G) later this year despite expectations that Ofcom’s auction of the coveted 800MHz spectrum “will not see any real action” until early 2013.
The UK hybrid of Orange and T-Mobile is running an ongoing 4G trial in Cornwall on the 800MHz spectrum and is due to trial the latest network on its existing 1800MHz spectrum in Bristol from April. If this trial is successful, and Everything Everywhere receives a licence to liberalise its bandwidth for 4G use, Orange and T-Mobile customers could be on 4G by the year’s end.
But the group said the initial rollout will be on a small scale and available only on dongles at first, not phones.
The 4G network will support much faster download speeds, allowing mobile devices to be used for HD video streaming and other data-heavy tasks.
The telco group has already upgraded 60 per cent of its current network to 3.5G, which increases download speeds by about 50 per cent.
Chief executive Olaf Swantee (pictured) called this “a great opportunity for the UK”, and said that 4G is vital in bringing the nation to “a level playing field with other parts of Europe, the US and Asia.”
It is expected that the national birth of 4G on the 800MHz spectrum, currently used for analogue TV, will interfere with television signals in up to 1m homes. The telcos will foot the bill, in excess of £100m, to provide a solution.