High Speed 4G LTE Could Soon Be Arriving in the UK

[Maura]

High speed 4G LTE mobile services may have take their sweet time getting to the UK, but judging by a new press release from Ofcom today, as reported on by TechCrunch, the UK could finally be getting the super fast services. According to Ofcom, which is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industry, it plans to hold an auction of spectrum, the largest ever, no less, for mobile services in the UK by the end of 2012. According to Ofcom, this would then lay “the path for next-generation 4G networks to be rolled out next year.” Ofcom says that “the auction will offer the equivalent of three quarters of the mobile spectrum in use today” which is 80% more than was released in the 3G auction in 2000. Ofcom goes on to spell out what many UK iPhone and iPad owners have been hoping for, i.e., that mobile broadband will be rolling out to at least 98% of people all across the UK, via 4G, “the fourth generation of mobile technology, which will deliver much faster mobile data speeds to phones and other wireless devices than presently possible.” The press release goes on to say that Ofcom will also be reserve some of the available spectrum for a fourth national wholesaler aside from big three mobile carriers in the UK, namely Vodafone, T-Mobile and O2.

Ed Richards, Ofcom Chief Executive, said: “The 4G auction has been designed to deliver the maximum possible benefit to consumers and citizens across the UK.
“As a direct result of the measures Ofcom is introducing, consumers will be able to surf the web, stream videos and download email attachments on their mobile device from almost every home in the UK.”

Source: Ofcom
Via TechCrunch