Originally Posted by denyo1977:
“Well, you might be in for a long wait then! I am not convinced Everything Everywhere will be starting 4G this year (especially not for mobile phones). The other networks will make sure it will be delayed. And otherwise with the auction still having to go ahead, you are probably looking at two years.”
So the auction is currently planned for Q4 2012, but is likely to be pushed into Q1 or Q2 2013.
I think by late summer 2013 the operators will be pushing out 4G, so that's just over 1 year.
I will probably buy a 4G capable phone way before 4G is actually here, I may very well pick one up from the states as I'm over in the summer, I just need to make sure the LTE frequencies it supports are the same ones as will be available in the UK.
I think 4G will be the quickest rollout we've ever seen because LTE uses lower frequencies, so the signal will carry a lot further than 3G. The operators are already securing the backhaul ready to go, and in the LTE spec there is the ability to have relay nodes, which receive, error correct and re-broadcast the signal.
A lot of the cells to start with could become basic nodes just to get the service up and running, without the full backhaul, then as later capacity is needed full 4G LTE backhaul can be implemented, so initially cells operating in a passthough mode, kind of like a repeater for quick coverage.
In some cases the equipment being purchased by the operators is already 4G capable and just needs a software update to broadcast LTE I think, maybe somebody can confirm this.