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Mobile Operator Grabs 4G Lead In UK — But Will Anything Work On It?
pbahra writes "Finally, the U.K. is going to get a 4G mobile-Internet service. For a country that was once at the cutting edge of mobile telephony, its lack of high-speed mobile broadband was becoming a severe embarrassment. Everything Everywhere, Britain's largest mobile network operator, has been granted permission by U.K. regulator Ofcom to provide next-generation LTE services as early as Sept. 11. Although Ofcom's ruling is a significant step for the U.K.'s telecoms future, the choice of frequency — 1,800 MHz — means that devices that can take advantage of the much faster data speeds that LTE offers — theoretically up to 100 megabits a second — are limited. Currently the only significant market using the frequency is South Korea. While 1,800 MHz is in use in a small number of European countries, and in Australia, numbers of users are small in comparison to the U.S. This means devices may be harder to get and cost more. So, anyone who thinks their new iPad is going to zip along at 4G speeds is going to be disappointed; the new iPad only supports U.S. LTE frequencies. For the same reason, those hanging on for the new iPhone, expected to be announced on Sept. 12, in the hope that it will be LTE-compliant are unlikely to have good news. Even if there is a new iPhone, and even if it is LTE-enabled, will it operate on Everything Everywhere's frequency?"
The UK adopting 1800 MHz LTE is awesome news for Australians, since it means we're more likely to see compatible devices coming out earlier rather than later.
iPad 3, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S III... these are all LTE devices, but not in Australia. It'll be nice when the manufacturers are now much more likely to deliver 1800 MHz versions much earlier in the product cycle.
to Everything Elsewhere
For Japan at least, I think you're referring to 1seg which is a separate lower resolution digital TV broadcast channel. So the OTA TV comes over ISDB, not the cellular network. All it requires is a 1seg tuner built into the hardware. Nothing at all to do with LTE, or indeed mobile telephony for that matter.
I'm currently working on Smart Energy products for consumers homes (ZigBee). We have devices working and interoperating in the US and else where at 2.4 GHz. The UK wants to use 900MHz because at the physical layer it has better range. I was kind of hoping the UK would give up on doing things their own way. This doesn't give me much faith.
If the iPad/iPhone won't work on Everything Everywhere's frequency, it would probably offer a small, pocket-sized mifi device.
That way a user's mifi device would make the 4G connection and his/her iPhone/Ipad would make a wi-fi connection to the mi-fi device.
most of Asia (not all) is scheduled to operate on 1800MHz
Apple got fined for not working on this frequency and claiming 4G in australia so they are more than aware !
1800 is great for Everything Everywhere as they get first mover advantage and use the same as other countries
regards
John Jones
The article seems to imply that the carrier should have adopted US LTE frequencies.
The problem is, the North American LTE frequencies are quite different from the rest of the world. You have to expect that any NA-bound LTE devices wouldn't work on Europe or any other place.
Here's a basic rundown of the major frequencies in use:
North America: band 2 (1900MHz), band 4 (1700/2100MHz), bands 12/13/17 (700MHz)
Europe/Asia/etc.: band 3 (1800MHz), bands 5/20 (800MHz), band 7 (2.6GHz)
Because of this, even the current LTE chips with multiple frequency support has to choose between North American and European baseband firmware, necessitating separate models for NA and Europe release.
In terms of number of carriers behind each frequencies, 1.8GHz is the second most preferred after 2.6GHz. So I think it was sensible for the UK carrier to get behind it.
Personally, I'm waiting to see if there will be an LTE iPhone with non-US LTE frequency support. If this happens, device provision issue should lessen, as it is a popular phone - there will be a lot of demand and the competitors will release models with similar frequency support to prevent losing market share.
Serving time in Aristotelean prison for violating laws of physics
Certainly the device is capable of speeds less than "4G", is it not? If it is, than surely something will work on it. If it is not then it destined to the dustbin of history. Seriously though, what manufacturer would market a device that is completely incompatible with every other existing technololgy?
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Why are the transceivers hardwired for one band? Is it really that hard to make one that's switchable between bands? Or is it the antennas? :)
Sorry, dumb CSer with only basic EE here
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If you want data, O2 or 3 are the way to go.
If you want a cheap phone you can just bin at the end of your stay, Tesco sell a pay as you go for £15 - it used to come with £10 credit already on it, but I don't know if that still holds true. Tesco also just resell O2 airtime, so make of that what you will. Note that Tesco will also multiply credit at certain levels - if you put in £10, they'll triple it to £30, £15 gets you £45 and £20 gets you £60. 1GB is £7.50 - but make sure to request a Data Bundle.
Three really only shine on Contracts - don't know much about their tarrifs.
Orange, which along with T-Mobile forms Everything Everywhere, will give you what is effectively a contract level of access, provided you pay in at least £10 pcm, and what you get varies by the profile - I believe I'm on Dolphin, which means I get a buttload of texts, very little talktime and meagre data.
Exactly.
There's no shortage of 4g capable Android phones and tablets. Samsung devices (Galaxy SII, SIII etc) are all 4g multi-region capable, as are most recent phones from other vendors.
Who cares if Apple can't get their act together with a multi-region chipset?
"I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
Thanks Labour. Because they managed to auction the 3G network off for such a huge, huge price, I suspect most mobile operators in the UK held off, wanting to get their moneys worth from the deal. Because it was such a huge sum, I can only assume they've dragged their feet, as our mobile networks join our broadband network in slipping way behind.
Thanks for the pointers... it's looking like 3 is the way to go. They have a £10 pay as you go plan that comes with 500MB of data. Sounds perfect for a couple of weeks and it looks like they have decent coverage where I'll be...
Anyone have specific experience with 3 in the Preston/Blackpool area?
GiffGaff runs on the O2 network. They offer 500 MB for only £5 (or 1 GB for £7.50). You need to open the account with a minimum of £10 of credit. Just buy a GiffGaff (preferable) or O2 £10 card at any mobile top-up counter -- at petrol stations, post offices, off licences (convenience stores), etc. SIMs are free when mailed to a domestic U.K. address, but make sure to order a MicroSIM for an iPad. Activate online (via wifi). Smartphone rates are great, too.
The good thing about it is that in the trains, buses, and restaurants, the other people are not bothering me with their phone conversations. :-)
There's a website that collects coverage data through an Android app and publishes them online: Sensorly, which confirms that it's mostly 2G in Scotland. Regarding spatial coverage, it suffers a bit from undersampling, though.
Note: my experience is from an HTC Desire S phone in a silicone rubber casing; I noticed in the past that the silicon reduces the GPS sensitivity, but I never noticed a difference for 2G/3G signals.
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Don't worry about areas. In Europe, a network usually covers the whole country and the signal is everywhere except deep in the woods.
At least wireless companies in Britain haven't started soldering embedded SIM cards to the circuit board to force users to pay criminally overpriced international roaming charges from (*cough*) "strategic global roaming partners" when their customers travel overseas, instead of buying a prepaid SIM from a local network.
Sadly, this isn't an artificial, contrived example. Sprint did it to their new "world" phone, the Motorola Photon Q. Apparently, Verizon is chomping at the bit to start doing the same. When I first read about it, all I could think of was the quote from 1984 about the boot stepping on a face.
it's looking like 3 is the way to go. They have a £10 pay as you go plan that comes with 500MB of data.
I think Three is still one of the better PAYG deals, but its a shame they cut the plan down a bit a while back. When I switched to Three PAYG they did 150MB of "free" data every time you top up (minimum 5 pound) which expired after 90 days, free on-network calls, and a 5 pound bundle that gave you 2GB for a month. By the time my fiancée switched to Three they had cut the "free" 150MB so it expires after 30 days, no more free calls and the 5 pound bundle is now only 500MB. For a while, they kept me on my original terms, but a few months ago cut my "free" 150MB expiry down to 45 days.
One thing to watch out for is that Three claim they will SMS you when your bundle is about to run out, bun in reality this almost never happens and if you're not paying attention you drop onto their expensive per-megabyte charges. I can recommend the My3 Droid android widget (70 pence) for keeping an eye on this.
http://blog.nexusuk.org
If you want mostly data, I'd go for GiffGaff (5p/text, 10p/min) and get one of their data goody bags (£5 for 500MB - £12.50 for 3GB) or if you want to make a lot of calls or don't want tethering then get one of their other goody bags (£10 for 250 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited phone-only Internet). If you want calls and texts, I'd go with with TalkMobile (4p/text, 8p/min).
For the iPad, GiffGaff plus their 3GB goody bag is probably what you want. You need to order the SIM online, but you can usually just get it delivered to your hotel. It usually takes a few days to arrive, so order it before you leave and let the place you're staying know to expect it...
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I live in Preston and work in Blackpool. Signal wise, pretty much all UK carriers have good signals in local areas, but cost wise O2 probably have the best deal with £10/month giving unlimited data.
Maybe he likes run down post-industrial wastelands and cheap hen/stag-night infested vomit covered seaside towns? ... who wouldn't?
If phone operators really want people to adopt 4G they'd better ensure that the broadband limits are high enough that they allow for reasonable usage and the price is low enough to be attractive. By reasonable I mean within the context of a device equipped with high speed internet and capable of delivering HD streaming video. That means at least 50GB a month and preferably more if they expect to steal business from landline / fibre providers.
lol - well... I have work in the area but my wife is going with me to see some parts of the UK we haven't seen yet. I don't know that Preston would have been our first choice for going back to the UK... but the decision was made for us.
Thanks for the info on 3!
I travel a lot in the UK and I cannot reproduce your problems, why does it work for me?
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
the American variants use different chipsets, and different radios, are compatible with LTE-700MHz, and are basically different phones).
You forget LTE 1700 (AWS). And in the case of sprint, isn't it LTE 1900?
I bought a 3 MiFi in Blackpool, coverage seems to be fine. I use the £10 payg data with the MiFi whenever I'm in the UK (or the £3 one day thing if I'm just passing, it's a lot cheaper than airport WiFi)
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