We’ve had Everything Everywhere launching the UK’s first 4G LTE trial in a corner of Cornwall - and now O2 is switching on the UK’s largest LTE network trial.
It’s set up a 4G network in London and will be running it as a trial for the next 9 months. Over 25 4G sites will go live this month, covering a combined area of 40 square kilometres from Hyde Park to The O2 in Greenwich. O2 is lending 4G mobile broadband dongles and 4G personal WiFi hotspots to hundreds of consumers, businesses and venue owners. John Lewis, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and The O2 arena are among the businesses that’ll be testing 4G services.
Ronan Dunne, Chief Executive Officer of Telefónica UK (O2), said “Today’s launch of the UK’s first 4G London trial network demonstrates our commitment to delivering 4G to our customers at the earliest opportunity. The work we are doing now will lay the foundations for our commercial 4G network when it launches in the UK. O2 has been at the heart of the mobile data explosion over the last three years and our priority has always been to build ahead of the curve. Our work in London will give us a better understanding of the capabilities of 4G technology and will allow us to explore the superfast benefits it will bring to people and industry across the UK. This 4G trial is the next step on our journey to a smarter network - a network that offers a seamless, connected experience across multiple devices, locations and services.”
O2’s 4G LTE service will use the 2.6GHz spectrum band to deliver data speeds that are expected to be over five times faster than a 3G connection.