Everything Everywhere plans to roll-out 4G mobile internet for Orange and T-Mobile customers by the end of the year, providing it gets the green light from Ofcom.

The company has announced that a new 4G test on the 1800Mhz spectrum will commence in Bristol this April as part of its hopes to launch before the year is out.

In order to create the 4G network, it would be necessary for Ofcom to allow EE to convert some of its existing 1800Mhz spectrum license from 3G to 4G use. The regulator says it is considering the offer.

Everything Everywhere is also extending its 800Mhz spectrum 4G trials in Cornwall until the summer as it seeks to built the UK's best 4G infrastructure.

This announcement comes as a major boost for UK smartphone owners as it was thought we wouldn't see 4G speeds until 2013 at the very earliest.

Full Story: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-...n-2012-1065585

Additional Coverage: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...this-year.html

Oh, no! Does that mean I have to wait for a new phone till the end of the year?
Saying that, I'm guessing they will start with dongles only. But great news! Hope the other networks won't start complaining.

This is great news if EE can supply 1800MHz LTE dongles but how long will it be before smartphone manufacturers start producing handsets with 1800MHz 4G compatibility?

With this and also a rollout of 21/42 HSPA+ it's very good news for all involved and by Q3 we will all be enjoying much faster data speeds.

Orange for me are doing the right thing and keeping customers informed about their plans rather than other networks which don't release any news whatsoever.

Isn't 1800 only used for 2g at the moment, not 3g? But this is good news that EE will be ready by the end of the year. Does anyone have a link to the status' of other networks or have they not announced anything yet?

Also, it is 800mhz and 2600mhz and now 1800mhz that 4g will use?

I didn't even think about the fact that "normal" 4G phones won't be able to make use of it. So if no other network jumps on the bandwagon, we might still be years away from using 4G on phones? Or would other networks then do the same to save money (not sure if it would to be honest)?

That's what I'm confused about.

The T-Mobile/Orange merger already seems to have resulted in reduced coverage for existing customers where sites have been decommissioned.

They only have 1800MHz for 2G, and they're supposed to offload part of that as per the terms of the merger.

Shoving all Orange/T-Mobile 2G customers onto an even more constrained amount of 1800MHz bandwidth seems like a terrible idea for such a short term "gain".

Orange/T-Mobile can refarm some of their 1800Mhz bandwidth for LTE and will no doubt already be securing supplies of hardware that can use these frequencies for the launch. In tandem they will be upgrading their UMTS at 2100Mhz to MultiMode HSPA+ which has a theoretical download limit of 42Mbs. Equipment that will support this new standard should be available from Q3 2012.

The big question is who will buy EE's 30Mhz of spectrum at 1800Mhz that is for sale presently. Any of the other operators or a new one could buy it and compete with LTE using MBNL as the transmission network contractor.

Then there is the question of what Vodafone will do with their 900Mhz bandwidth that they currently use for GSM. Both they and 02 have lots of 900Mhz and some 1800Mhz already plus 2100Mhz UMTS. 02 have already refarmed some 900Mhz to UMTS to provide additional data capacity but perhaps Vodafone are hanging fire and could use 900Mhz for LTE leapfroginng 02 and everyone else. No reason why they couldn't if EE gets the go ahead to use 1800Mhz for LTE from Ofcom. Then theres the 1800Mhz that 02 and Vodafone have available, could they both use those for LTE once the green light is given for its use by EE?

Lots of options to make LTE available before the additional 850 and 2600Mhz frequency blocks are auctioned off later this year.

EE have a massive amount of 1800 even after the sale. They could kill off 2G in city centres where there is good 3G and start up 4G. The major phones and tablets that will be launched this year will support 1800mhz LTE so this network will be ready to go. 1800 is going to be one of the popular frequencies for '4G' around the world.

Customers with 2G will have to upgrade devices at sometime.

If it comes to it EE can give free handsets to the remaining GSM 1800 customers. It could be a good business move in the longer term.

Very much what i was thinking and they get lock in for a year or two

The problem there being that the VAST MAJORITY of people in the UK are using a 2G device (not just on Orange and T-Mobile).

They're both still selling 2G-only devices!

When you say "remaining 1800(MHz) customers", you're not talking about a few reluctant stragglers, you're talking about most of their customer base.

The cost to give everyone a replacement 3G phone on Orange, T-Mobile and Virgin Mobile (plus other MVNOs) would be very large.

2G phones aren't just cheap devices that make calls and send text messages - they include the original iPhone and recent Blackberry devices.

It wouldn't be cheap to give people with an iPhone an "equivalent" 3G device.

Orange is currently pushing an own-brand basic 2G phone "free" on a 24 month contract. The idea that they'd pay for everyone to get a 3G upgrade seems a bit far fetched.

I would imagine, given the increased uptake in 3g phones, that EE will have some surplus 1800Mhz spectrum that they can use for the nationwide rollout. A bit like o2 is doing with their 3G900 scheme.

The number of LTE devices available will be few, and probably won't really take off until EE can get their hands on some extra spectrum, so I can't imagine there being too much of a problem here.

YES!!!! Now we can kiss goodbye to the "<name of country> is better than us at this" propaganda on the Digital Spy forums in terms of 4G technology!!!! Oh wait, we might still get some "<name of country> is better than us at this" propaganda on the Digital Spy forums in terms of 4G coverage and average download speeds!

LTE at 1800Mhz will probably be targetted at data use initally and will be used to service dongles and MifFi devices to lessen the load on UMTS bandwidth which EE does not have in abundance.

The increased speed on a mobile handset unless it is tethered is academic for bowsing and general Internet use as Plymouth has already confirmed.

The existing GSM frequencies is where EE,02 and Vodafone have an advantage presently if they can use some of that bandwidth for LTE without affecting the millions who still use GSM for voice and SMS.

Interesting that they make this announcement just as they start looking for buyers for the 1800Mhz spectrum they need to sell off, though.

Trying to drum up some interest, perhaps?

Maybe but it has just been announced that Virgin are now extending tests of their 2600MHz LTE and may bid in the auction later this year to run their own UK network for mobile data. Makes sense as it could be cheaper than relying on EE and give them an opportunity to offer customers tv, home and mobile data, voice, etc in one package.

All of the present mobile ops should be interested in the disposal but the price may put some off if they think they can get a better deal by winning some 850Mhz/2600Mhz bandwidth at auction in the Autumn.

2600 would need a shed load of antennas to cover a city. A village would be quite interesting but i suspect this is going to be mostly in building, stadiums etc..

EE have enough to allow 2G voice and roll out LTE data on 1800. Something will have to give, disable data on 2G maybe.

Are the networks still selling 2G phones? Silly move if they are!

1000s of them - many are just £9.99 SIM Free in Tesco!

Yeah 2600 will need lots of base stations in cities but Virgin are well placed to install them with their existing cable network plus they have started trialling wireless transmitters that need nothing more than a power connection to deliver 2600 LTE data to users.

The networks themselves don't seem to stock that many of them. As they are mostly PAYG at cheap prices there is no reason why people cannot buy a cheap new 3G device. Own fault for the consumer not double checking that their device will not be future proof IMHO.

It would be very interesting if Virgin Broadband decided to put a Microcell on each of their urban cabinets for 2600. I'm not sure why they would do that (benefits over the current networks?) but it would be a sensible way for them to build their own network.

This is what Virgin Media are trialling and it makes sense...

"Kevin Baughan, Director of Wireless, Virgin Media, said, "We want to put the power of our fibre optic network wherever people need it most, both inside and outside the home. Our technology trial in Oxford Street, one of London's busiest streets, proved the potential benefits of a small-cell solution and plugging into our network could help offer unrivalled capacity for mobile data services."

The London trial operated on a test license granted by the regulator Ofcom to allow Virgin Media and Airspan to conduct the trial and prove the potential benefits of the network.

"We are pleased to partner with Virgin Media in these small-cell LTE trials," commented Paul Trubridge, Airspan Vice President of Product Management. "AirSynergy is providing Virgin Media with a very compact form factor that delivers extremely high-capacity LTE connectivity. This trial is demonstrating the key role that small cells will play in the success of future mobile broadband deployments."

AirSynergy is a groundbreaking pico cell, multi-standard product capable of running LTE and WiMAX technologies. Its compact design ensures discrete deployment in various locations such as lamp posts, telephone poles and building fronts. Most unique to the product is its integrated wireless backhaul capabilities and the ability to self-configure, self-connect, self-heal and self-optimize when deployed."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vir...-uk-2012-02-23

Others will no doubt have similar ideas for delivering LTE but the above provides an insight as to how easy it could be for a new network provider to roll out coverage quickly. Perhaps BT might be tempted to bid on a similar basis?

Daveoc64: I wouldn't say the majority of customers are on a 2G device at all, pay as you talk yes, pay monthly i'd imagine it's quite high for 3G users. Plus there is all the dongles, Transport 3G to Wifi devices etc etc

WAVE: Great that they are seriously investigating it, be good to see what use they put it to!



The 1800 frequency is set to become the most popular LTE frequency in Europe and Asia. Two of the biggest markets.
Qualcom one of the who make the chips which allow handsets to operate at this freq already have the tech ready (new Samsung S3/New iPad etc most likely)


There are already Dongles available to operate on the this too.

It will not take long at all for the device market to adapt.

Why is everyone so over excited about 4G?

Its going to be so expensive the ordinary man in the street won't want to pay for the extra speed, I'm sure!

I suppose you could say that about most new things...

At the end of last year 3G adoption across the UK had hit 51%, which means that the (very slim) majority of customers do have 3G phones - but that's still 49% of people in the UK without a 3G device.

(The figures only count phones - not dongles, Mi-Fis, datacards etc.)

I see no reason why Orange and T-Mobile would be significantly above or below the average, so let's say that of:

28 Million Orange/T-Mobile "Everything Everywhere" customers

14 Million of them have 2G devices that would need replacing.

That's not going to be cheap. There's not just the cost of the phones to consider. Changing phones can be expensive for people. You might need new chargers, cases, handsfree kits etc. If networks force changes on people then they might consider switching networks and they'd lose revenue.

Throw in the MVNOs to the mix (which might have agreements in place for 2G to be continued for a certain period of time) and it's even more expensive.

If EE (or any network for that matter) really wanted to ditch 2G then they should stop selling 2G phones (Orange's website currently sells 10 2G phones, T-Mobile sells several models including Blackberry smartphones that only have 2G).

I think the reason that they don't has been pointed out before - it's harder to sell a £10 3G phone in a supermarket.

The cheapest phone Three sell is £44.99!