Everything Everywhere is hoping to get permission to provide 4G coverage to its customers by the end of the year. The company is the largest cell phone provider in the UK with 27 million customers, and as a report on The Guardian is stating it will also mean customers of Virgin Media and Three will also benefit as those company’s use the same network.

The country has fallen behind the likes of the US and Germany with 4G technology with some residents still struggling to even get 3G coverage. Countries such as France and Italy are further ahead than the UK in auctioning off spectrum to provide a 4G service. In the UK auctions have been delayed by various legal arguments, and are not expected to be completed until the beginning of 2013.

Everything Everywhere has applied to Ofcom for permission to change some of its 1800MHz spectrum, which is already used for slower 3G connections over to 4G. Everything Everywhere was created with the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, and the company also has an agreement with rival operator Three for the sharing of masts.

The company is thought to have spare capacity to offer a limited service without the need to purchase new spectrum. As there aren’t many 4G handsets currently available in the UK the service will at first be restricted to 4G via a dongle.

Using 4G will see connections with around 8 to 20 megabits per second, which is faster than the average broadband connection speed found in many homes. Meanwhile 3G connections in the country are slower with speeds averaging around 1.4Mbps.

The service will initially be on trial from April in Bristol but could go national if Ofcom gives permission for the move by April or May. The company has also announced it now has a record amount of customers tied to a contract. An article on the BBC is reporting that during the quarter to December 31st it saw 313,000 new customers signing up.

This was put down to consumers upgrading to smartphones coupled with data packages, which were mainly on monthly contracts. Everything Everywhere’s plan may be hit with some opposition from rival operators though, as it could gain an early advantage being able to offer a 4G service.

More About: 4G, Everything Everywhere, Ofcom

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The company has recently been trialing 4G coverage at its flagship store in London’s Oxford Street, ahead of any possible bid. Many would have thought that the bidding would just be between Everything Everywhere, O2, Three, and Vodafone, but as TechRadar are reporting a decision has yet to be finalized.

A spokesperson from the company commented about Ofcom wanting new participants for the market and was “an encouraging sign”. It is thought that Ofcom are looking to make available the type of spectrum that Virgin would be looking to use available for auction.

The carrier connected a small cell onto the London store’s broadband connection and tested it via a 4G dongle. Virgin are now looking to expand the trials further to other consumers, and has before tested services in the Kent town of Ashford so it could happen here again.

Virgin Mobile’s coverage as come from piggy backing the T-Mobile network, which has now expanded to Orange as well after the two carriers merged and created Everything Everywhere. Other carriers have been testing 4G connections before Virgin such as Everything Everywhere and O2 ahead of the auctions.

It has been reported before that many mobile users in the country still struggle to get a reliable 3G connection in some regions. The 4G auction expected to raise billions for the British Government just as a similar auction did for 3G spectrum. Are you looking forward to a 4G service?

More About: 4G, Virgin Media

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The auction is set to be held towards the end of this year as rival companies bid to buy the spectrum that is needed to help with the demand of the increase in use of smartphones and tablets. The Guardian are reporting that Ofcom now want 98% of the country’s population having access to mobile broadband, which is up from 95%.

Auctioning off the 4G spectrum could provide the UK Government with a £3 billion windfall along with millions in annual license fees. Ofcom has revealed new rules regarding the auction that has seen earlier guarantees for two operators removed. Before both Three and Everything Everywhere was to have a certain amount of spectrum in the 800MHz band reserved.

This band is currently being used by analogue TV signals that will become available by the end of the year when they are switched off. With regards of subscribers Everything Everywhere is the largest network following the merger of T-Mobile and Orange, while Three is the smallest.

The two companies have said they should get space reserved on the 800MHz spectrum as both O2 and Vodafone currently have no spectrum below 1000MHz. Lower spectrum bands are cheaper to build as they can send radio waves over greater distances, which means less masts and cheaper networks.

Ofcom may introduce protection for Three at a later date but not Everything Everywhere. It is expected that demand for mobile broadband in parts of Europe including the UK, will increase by 500% in the next five years.

The decision to increase the coverage of mobile broadband by Ofcom for remote rural areas comes in response to requests from MPs. One of the lots of spectrum to be auction off comes with this increase coverage obligation, but whoever wins this could have access to £150 million.

Will you be glad once 4G is available in the UK?

More About: 4G, Everything Everywhere, Ofcom, Three

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The carrier announced that is to begin a one month trial of the technology, which ZDNet are reporting will take place in the Thames Valley. This is the same region that O2 has already performed early tests, and will be on the 2.6GHz spectrum. This is a high bandwidth and will cover four sites near to Maidenhead and Slough.

Later in the year Three will carry out further tests with regular customers the operator has said. Three’s David Dyson said “With every major upgrade like this smartphone and tablet customers will find they can enjoy their devices more in more places across the UK”.

He added that the company can provide unlimited data plans to customers because “of smart network management, investment in improved technologies and the spectrum that is the lifeblood of mobile.” We reported before that O2 had started trials in London with Everything Everywhere doing the same down in Cornwall.

Rival operator Vodafone has already conducted a number of trials in the country that started in 2009. No matter how much testing takes place operators can’t provide services until new spectrum is auctioned off. This is thought to now take place towards the end of 2012.

The UK is falling behind other countries in rolling out 4G services, and studies suggest the country is losing out on £730m of economic benefits every year. Does the lack of a 4G service bother you?

More About: 4G, Three Network

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UK regulator Ofcom has provided its own map of the country revealing 3G coverage and according to The Telegraph 27 percent of homes and businesses in the country can’t get a 3G mobile signal for all of the major carriers. Parts of Scotland and Wales that are rural as well as being hilly, were listed as having the worst 3G coverage in the UK.

Many customers in rural parts of the UK often get no signal at all, or can only receive a signal from only one operator. Each one of the UK mobile carriers is obliged to cover 80 percent of the country, but they can decide what areas to cover, and often pick those that will be most profitable.

Carriers were offered licenses to provide a 3G network back in 2000, and made the British Government billions. But carriers have struggled to see returns on that investment, so have focused networks on the most profitable areas.

Ofcom maps reveals that only two-thirds of the total UK landmass can get a mobile signal at all, but this is still equivalent to 97 percent of the UK population. When you look at 3G coverage that is needed for better use of smartphones, this drops to only 13 percent. We told you recently that more of the UK was now using smartphones, so many will be hoping that coverage improves in certain areas.

Do you get good 3G coverage in your area?

More About: 3G, 4G, Ofcom

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TNW are reporting that the carriers unlimited data packages have tempted many consumers to switch from rival providers, and now data accounts for 97 percent of the company’s mobile traffic. Three has now become the country’s quickest growing mobile network, which has been helped by customers taking up its all you can eat data plans.

They have offers on pay monthly and pay-as-you-go plans, and have seen a 427 percent rise in data usage on its networks. Users are downloading apps and streaming films among other things while on the go. When the company launched back in 2003 its unique selling point was that it was solely a 3G provider.

This may cause problems for the network in the short term though as it is in danger of running out of capacity, which hasn’t been helped by the delay of the UKs 4G auctions by Ofcom. Where other UK networks can switch 3G services over to a 2G spectrum, Three doesn’t have this option. It is believed auctions might not start until the end of 2012 at the earliest.

More About: 4G, Three Network

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The country’s first trial of the technology has begun in Cornwall with around 200 residents of the area are taking part in the trial. According to The Telegraph the trial is using LTE technology, and those taking part have been given equipment that allows them to try out the network for their home broadband as well as on the move.

Tests done in a laboratory have found the network would allow download speeds of up to 150Mbps, but is expected to offer 10Mbps to start with. This will still be a big leap forward compared to 3G that according to Ofcom only offers around 1.5Mbps on average.

This trial being conducted by BT and Everything Everywhere could also be used to provide rural areas with better download speeds. The British Government is attempting to provide such areas with a better broadband service by 2015.

The fixed line network upgrade program planned by BT is only going to cover around seventy percent of properties. This will concentrate on urban areas where return on the investment will be higher than those in rural areas.

Great Britain has fallen behind many other countries with the take up of 4G technology, and the 4G networks in the country are set to use the 800MHz spectrum band. Regulator Ofcom is planning to start auctioning 4G licenses during the first half of 2012.

More About: 4G, mobile broadband

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It was set to be the British government’s largest spectrum sell off ever, but now according to Guardian.co.uk this won’t happen until the second quarter of next year at the earliest. British telecom’s watchdog Ofcom was thought to be publishing the terms of the auction this month. But after threats of legal action from the carriers including O2, this will not now be ready until November.

A spokesman from Ofcom said: “We are still aiming for the first half of next year. However, we have always maintained it is an ambitious timescale.” Any court case would delay the release of 4G licenses that would benefit the UK biggest mobile carriers, Everything Everywhere, O2, and Vodafone.

It wouldn’t be so good for the newest and smallest carrier Three, because the older carriers have spare spectrum that they are now allowed to reallocate for making calls and internet access. Three unfortunately has none of this so has to compensate by offering customers genuine unlimited mobile broadband access.

The carrier will also run out of spare data capacity before the other carriers, and the 4G auction will allow successful bidders to provide 4G services by the end of 2013. Three recently offered rural communities in the country free access to broadband in an attempt to win favor from MPs and regulators.

UK cell phone users will be seeing all the new handsets becoming available for the likes of AT&T and Verizon customers in the US with 4G capability. The successful Samsung Galaxy S II is also set to get 4G capability in Europe next year but unfortunately UK users won’t be able to make full use of it.

Are you disappointed that there is no 4G service in the UK or are you happy with 3G?

More About: 4G, Ofcom

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Let’s start by saying that this article depends heavily on the accuracy of BGR, however if it turns out to be spot on we can expect the new ATRIX to feature an 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p HD video capture – this is quite an upgrade when we consider that the ATRIX 4G is only capable 720p video capture via its 5 megapixel sensor. At one time we were under the impression that a software update would be released to unlock 1080p 30fps capture, however we are beginning to think that this will never arrive.

We must admit that when the Motrola ATRIX 4G first arrived we thought its camera / camcorder functionality was a little lack-luster, let’s face it beneath the smartphone’s shiny exterior is a Tegra 2 dual-core 1 GHz processor and 1GB of RAM, therefore in terms of performance hardware it was by no means lacking, that’s why an 8 megapixel camera upgrade would undoubtedly unlock this handset’s true potential, we just wonder if Motorola will upgrade anything else.

If you check out the photo below of the rumored device you will see that it clearly shows a device which looks a lot like the Motorola ATRIX 4G, however those of you who have had plenty of hands-on time will notice that the 3.5mm jack socket has been relocated slightly, not only this but there’s said to be a dedicated camera button, a slightly refined physical design and on the rear you can clearly see a sticker stating that there is an 8 megapixel sensor with 1080p capture.

After having a quick look at tech specs it is clear that the ATRIX 4G is not really lacking in any area excluding its camera, perhaps the next model will have slightly cranked up clock speed and a higher capacity battery, but everthing else is up-there with today’s top-end offerings in our opinion. Do you agree? Or is there something you would change? Let us know in the comments section below.

More About: 4G, Android, Motorola

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Big Red has some of the bet handsets on the market, with most of them running the Android mobile OS. Ok, so we know that there are now a handful of 4G handsets, but it is still 3G that is wanted the most, and the first one that consumers still love is the Motorola Droid X2.

This model has not been on the market long, but is said to be one of the best on Android to date. What consumers’ love are HDMI mirroring mode, as well as the top-rated camera. However, the X2 is not perfect and the Samsung Galaxy S II shows just that.

Another Verizon 3G handset that consumers seem to love is the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. This handset was hyped for so long and although it is still a very popular model, we cannot feel that we were a little short-changed when it came to those gaming features. Having said that, it still offers superb gaming abilities compared to what else is out there.

The best non-4G smartphone on the Verizon network has to be the HTC Droid Incredible 2. Consumers cannot get enough of that larger screen and improved camera and faster CPU and increased RAM. We are sure that you have a few other 3G Verizon handsets that you wish to mention, which you can do so below.

More About: 4G, Verizon

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