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.

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 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?

Matt Warman from The Telegraph is reporting that the first trials to be carried out will take place in areas just south of Newquay in Cornwall. These areas are currently unable to get any broadband service at all. BT and the owners of Orange and T-Mobile have teamed up to trial the LTE service.

Tests have shown that 4G is capable of speeds up to 150mbs, but Sally Davis of BT Wholesale has warned that lower speeds are more likely with both companies aiming for closer to 10mbps. Similar services are already in parts of Europe as well as America, but this new trial will be the first to mix fixed line and wireless broadband.

To start with a hundred people will get the chance to use the service free with specially modified mobile phones. It will use parts of the 800 MHz spectrum band which is now available following the digital switchover. This frequency is ideal for wide ranging networks making it first choice for areas where a broadband or mobile signal is not available, as well as areas where signal quality is poor.

It will probably be a long time though before residents across the UK will have access to a 4G service.