If you are an O2 customer in the UK, then you are certain to be angry that your chosen network is being left behind when it comes to 4G, heck in some cases you even struggle to get 3G. However, this is not the case for all UK carriers, with some of them upping their game to try and increase 4G coverage, but it seems that this is affecting Freeview customers.

According to Ofcom almost all 2.3 million Freeview users will have to fit a filter to their box in order to counter the interference from 4G, which if left you will only see a blank screen. Before Sky satellite customers begin to worry, this issue will not affect you. These filters will be provided free of charge thanks to the 4G auction fund.

However, there are a small percentage of Freeview customers where these filters will not work, well around a 1,000 homes. The sad thing is that there is nothing that can be done for these and will lose their Freeview service and will have to look for an alternative, which will be annoying when you consider that they either have this built-in to their TVs or have just bought themselves a Freeview box because of the switch to digital TV services.

If you would like to know more on this then Digital Spy has more information for you, but from what we gather those who also have Freesat are also unaffected by this. It seems that those unaffected by 4G are the ones who receives digital TV by use of a satellite dish, just like Sky and Freesat. You might be interested to learn that the latter digital TV service is to also offer YouTube via their boxes in the not too distant future.

You’ve probably heard 4G mentioned quite a lot in the news at the moment, and that is mainly because we are right in the midst of a nationwide 4G rollout. In case you fancy buying 4G phones in the future, you might want to know when and where the 4G rollout will be taking place.

EE – At present, EE is the only network offering 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) in the UK. In 2012, the network rolled out its network to around 27 towns and cities in the UK, including Belfast, Maidenhead, Newcastle, Nottingham, Hull, Slough and Derby. In total, the network accounts for coverage of around 45 per cent of the UK population.

March 2013 is the next big date you need to remember in relation to the 4G rollout, as this is the deadline by which EE will have rolled out its 4G service to at least a further 15 cities. This means that mobile users with iPhone 5 4G or other 4G-enabled handsets in towns and cities such as Leicester, Reading, Coventry, Sunderland and Chelmsford will soon be able to start benefiting from the fast data connectivity speeds associated with 4G.

Other places included in the March 2013 rollout include Wolverhampton, St Albans, Rotherham, Doncaster and West Bromwich.

By the end of 2013, EE hopes to reach around 70 per cent of the population with 4G coverage. By the end of 2014, virtually everyone will be able to use it.

Other networks – Currently, other mobile networks are in the process of bidding for the right to purchase the 4G spectrum. The understanding at the moment is that Vodafone and O2 will launch 4G services in late spring or early summer 2013.

Orange and T-Mobile use the EE network, so customers of these networks will be able to start using 4G at the same time as other EE customers. The network Three may be using part of EE’s network for 4G services from around September 2013 onwards, but it may also purchase its own 4G spectrum.

Thanks, Dudley Rutter.

Hearing the iPad 4 and mini will gain 4G in the UK must be exciting for those that can reach this faster network, although the reality is there are a lot of places in the UK that can’t even receive consistent 3G and makes some people laugh at the thought of this technology upgrade already. The key to success will be to make sure that better 3G coverage is attained over the next year, and also the 4G rollout across the UK is pretty fast. The iPad mini and iPad 4 release date is on November 2, which is for the Wi-Fi version although the 4G/LTE version will launch in the middle of Nov.

Within the last 24 hours we’ve seen Everything Everywhere talk about the fourth generation iPad and iPad mini, which they clearly state that these products will be supported by their network in the “coming weeks“. EE state they’re developing some “attractive” plans tailored to iPad 4 and mini users wanting to access data over 4G, but it is currently not known if they will be ready on the iPad 4 / mini release date. The image below had been taken during the Apple event on Oct 23, and shows the Wi-Fi launch date for iPad 4 and mini.

We’ve included the small statement from EE below, which points to the “typically” five times faster 4G speed but also states that T-Mobile and Orange offer fast DC-HSDPA and HSPA+ wireless networks. EE also comment on why the new iPad 4 design is much better, look away 3rd-gen owners, and also key points for the iPad mini.

Will you be looking to get the iPad 4, mini on the EE 4G network after release? When the exact date has been published we’ll let our readers know, although in the meantime feel free to share your thoughts on the new iPads. It is worth noting that the Apple Store is down at the time of writing, so you can place a pre-order directly with Apple in the coming minutes but you’d need to be quick with shipping times likely to slip very fast.

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.

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?

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?

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?

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?

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.

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.