LTE has gone live in the UK with a deployment from UK Broadband who hold a large section of 4G spectrum in the 3.5GHz and 3.6GHz bands. The first commercial deployment in the UK is centred in London, previous LTE networks having been trials, marks a landmark step forward for UK mobile broadband, presenting a new benchmark of speeds that can be achieved whilst on the move.
The UK Broadband service using frequencies that are a lot higher than the traditional band (800Mhz) and may suffer from reduced range, particularly whilst inside buildings. UK Broadband will offer LTE Advanced speeds with capacity to deliver superfast broadband speeds to a large number of simultaneous users. LTE Advanced does in theory allow for services of up to 1Gbps, but it's unclear whether this network will support that initially or an interim speed. They are been working with Huawei who have developed indoor and outdoor devices to allow homes and businesses to connect.
"We're very excited to be switching on our first TD-LTE system in the UK using our 4G spectrum. We're working with Huawei because we believe they have the expertise and experience we need to deliver the best solution."
Nicholas James, (CEO) UK Broadband
Unfortunately, there are no details at present of how people can sign up, or prices, but hopefully further information will come in the coming months.
So I wonder if this will cover some of the notspot or slow areas of London and surrounding areas or if they're just going to aim at big companies in the city?
Rob