4G LTE fixed and mobile broadband trial starts in Cornwall

Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale has started the first live trial of 4G LTE broadband in the UK, with Cornwall being used as the testbed for the next generation network.

Everything Everywhere, comprising Orange and T-Mobile, along with BT Wholesale will be running the trial for customers in St Newlyn East and South Newquay.

The trial is not just for mobile phone customers but also fixed line users, making it a world first, and it follows a successful eight week laboratory test.

The trial was announced back in May, but has taken slightly longer than the original estimate to begin in earnest.

Optimise

"The purpose of the laboratory testing was to prove it would be possible to share, manage and optimise valuable radio resources between two service providers, explained the press release.

"The field trial will now examine the experience of live triallists to help both Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale test and better understand realistic 4G LTE speeds, as well as general mobile broadband data service conditions in rural areas."

The trial is just for 100 mobile and 100 fixed line triallists – so don't be carting your imported handset over to Newquay to try it out just yet.

And for those that like the granular details about these things, we can tell you that the trial is using 10MHz of test 800MHz spectrum.

The trial will run until early next year, with LTE still on course to begin arriving in 2013.

Mobile

Olaf Swantee, CEO, Everything Everywhere, said:"Soon, more people will be accessing the internet on their mobile devices than on their PCs, and that means we need the right kind of networks in place to deliver the right kind of experience for our customers.

"That's why, as the UK's largest communications company, we are leading the development and introduction of new technologies like 4G.

"This next generation mobile network will allow individuals and businesses across Britain to access the people, places and things they want, wherever they are, whenever they want - and it will be faster and easier than ever before."