Mobile broadband has not run out of tricks just yet, millions are still to
see what all the fuss about 4G is about, with calls for operators to fix 3G
featuring regularly in online comments. The latest development is that Huawei has partnered with EE to launch a LTE Advanced (up to 300
Mbps) network in the area of Tech City.
The first customer trials should start in December, once EE has finished its
own playing during November and the focus will be on mobile Wi-Fi for offices
in the Tech City area. Once 2014 gets underway the coverage area will gradually
increase across London, and therefore may give those who have missed out on
Openreach and Virgin Media fibre based services the chance for something
faster.
“Today is about introducing the next age of 4G mobile technology to the UK.
Our existing 4G network delivers incredible mobile data speeds and covers
millions of people across the country, but we never stand still – we know that
mobile data usage is going to keep increasing, and rapidly so. The network
we’re switching on today in Tech City is the first part of an infrastructure
that can meet the future demands of increasingly data-hungry consumers and
businesses, and enable completely new ways of doing business.”Olaf Swantee, Chief Executive Officer
LTE Advanced makes such a big difference as it makes use of 2×2 MIMO
technology to use multiple masts and can make more efficient use of the radio
spectrum i.e. letting devices use 20 MHz down at 1800 MHz and also the 20 MHz
at 2.6 GHz. While the headline speed is 300 Mbps, it is expected that speed
tests in the region of 60 Mbps will be more the norm.
Handsets and mobile broadband devices are somewhat sparse at this time for
LTE Advanced, mainly because this deployment is at the cutting edge of mobile
broadband and thus ahead of the curve. Huawei are promising commercially
available hardware very soon.
For those wanting the 3G fixed first, the reason this does not happen is
that 3G has very limited bandwidth and session limits per mobile tower in the
wireless segment, whereas 4G services address these problems in theory and
should perform better for some years. The only problem for most of the public
is that providers see 4G as a premium service, meaning millions who are budget
watching will still be on 3G in a few years time.
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Great! Now you can use the tiny bit of bandwidth you get twice as quick.
I believe that any Snapdragon 800 device is classed as LTE-A, up to 150Mbps, so devices like the Galaxy Note 3, Xperia Z1, etc. should be able to make use of it.
I thought 2×2 MIMO just meant multipath / multiantenna connections to the one mast at one frequency ? It’s the Carrier Aggregation bit of LTE-A that brings in the second frequency / mast option.
In related news EE were erecting a 2G mast in Peterborough last week – part of their “refresh” project (ie rationalisation of T-mob and Orange into one network)
@otester – There was some talk of a fixed 4G router coming out for people who couldn’t get FTTC with the cost/GBs much lower than for mobile.
@Kushan – It’s not just speed though. The main feature will be carrier aggregation which current devices can’t do so are not LTE-A. Combining 20Mhz of 1800 and 20Mhz of 2600 would result is pretty impressive speeds.
@herdwick – that one will be 4G soon then. 2G refresh uses the new Huawei cabs.
Where is Tech City?
Indeed, where is it? But as ever, London gets the best and those of us out in the sticks get the bum’s rush. Digital divide anyone?