EE to launch 4G mobile services in 16 UK cities in 2012 "The UK's first fourth generation (4G) mobile service will launch in 16 UK cities before the end of the year. Everything Everywhere, which will now be known as just EE, will continue the rollout into the new year, and aims to provide 4G to 98% of the UK by 2014. 4G coverage in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol is currently being tested ahead of launching in "weeks". Rivals have voiced concerns that EE had been given an unfair headstart by launching first. Other cities to get the high-speed connectivity are Belfast, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Sheffield and Southampton." "'Spout unstoppably' 4G mobile technology will mean all of these locations will benefit from improved network access speeds, even indoors. Speaking at the event, London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I barely understand it, but information will spout unstoppably from these gizmos." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19543042 "The news that 4G will be available in 16 cities by Christmas will be seen as good for the UK which has already fallen behind other countries in terms of next generation mobile."
I doubt it will be a full on national roll out, so for those in the outer areas of the UK (most places outside of London) will probably have to wait a year or more. Which is why I had no qualms signing up for a two year contract on a new phone a few months ago..
Well, it seems that quite a few of the cities outwith London should get it this year. I have seen a report of 16 cities by christmas. Am not sure about my own region though, probably not.
They say "cities", but if going from the US rollout is anything to go by it will really mean a few square miles in the city centres. Getting to a point where it is reliable and you won't be switching from 4g to 3g all the time will probably take a good year or two!
I see what you mean. Okay in the city centre and area. As in, okay in Manchester city, but not in Trafford for example for a while.
Exactly! When the roll out happened in New York it was pretty much stuck to Manhattan and then after a lot of trial and error got expanded to surrounding areas. Though in the US it has still not been fully rolled out..
Personally for me... 3G... 4G... Is a whole lot of nothing.. So I am not really bothered. As long as I can text, make phone calls and take pictures with my mobile nothing else, really, is of any importance.
4G promises data transfer speeds to around the same as wifi! Imagine uploading your pictures from your phone with that kind of connection
I would prefer to upload pictures direct from my Digital SLR with embedded SIM card without them charging me an arm and a leg for the amount of data I was transferring but I think both those idea's are still a bit far away The main value in 4G services will be the replacement of fixed line broadband by mobile, if I can get that kind of service level from a mobile provider why would I pay BT for a fixed line, by this I mean mobile phone tethered to the computer and acting as the broadband modem instead of the landline.
I did exactly that, tethering, last year, for about a year. The internet quality wasn't the best but it suited my needs at the time and easier to set up, in some respects, than a landline arrangement. But with 4G, the internet quality would no doubt be significantly different. Only unknown is the cost. I only got landline broadband installed a few months back when the wife arrived so she could download and upload faster. I do recall at the time, thinking that landline services might be on their way out.
Landline will never die, FTTP (Fibre to the Premises) is the next step at which point over the air services will once again be relegated to a very second class service. There simply is not enough space on the wireless spectrum to accommodate what people want from the internet, there is no way that it will usurp fixed line services.
I see. Fibre optics, Oss? We were using that offshore. Great for comms but double trouble if broken....
All of the new fancy high speed internet connections in the UK are in some way fibre based, the network backbone is I expect entirely Fibre optic now. Currently though, you have fibre to the cabinet at the end of your street (FTTC) but copper from there to the house, if you have fibre to the premises then the bottle neck becomes the network switches (routers) eventually those devices will get faster too. Cable repairs are cable repairs, pretty hard at 3000 metres depth but relatively easy to splice a cable in a local subsurface conduit.
4G Services Get Go-Ahead For Earlier Launch "Mobile operators in Britain will be able to roll out 4G services to the vast majority of the country in the first half of next year, the Government has said. The move to bring 4G to the UK six months earlier than previously estimated was announced after Culture Secretary Maria Miller met the providers. The meeting followed rival firms' anger at regulator Ofcom's decision to allow Everything Everywhere (EE) to launch fourth generation - or 4G - services later this month. The announcement will enable Vodafone and O2 to complete with EE - the joint venture between Orange and T-Mobile - sooner than expected. "The deal, worth up to £3bn to the UK economy, will give people internet speeds on smartphones and tablets up to 10 times faster than currently available," said the statement." http://news.sky.com/story/992071/4g-...earlier-launch Mobile Provider To Launch 4G 'Within Weeks' http://news.sky.com/story/983663/mobile-provider-to-launch-4g-within-weeks
