Everything Everywhere and BT team up for Cornwall 4G trial

Residents in an area of Cornwall may soon experience mobile internet speeds of up to 100Mbit/s after Everything Everywhere and BT announced the trial of a live 4G network.

Up to 100 fixed and 100 mobile volunteers are being sought for the trial, which will take place to the south of Newquay (see map below). It is set to begin in September and end at some point in early 2012 after the ISPs were granted the right to use a small portion of the 800MHz spectrum.

The fixed customers will connect wirelessly via a 4G base station which then passes the signal back to BT's fixed-line backhaul network, while mobile customers will receive LTE-enabled dongles for use with laptops.

A spokesperson for Everything Everywhere told V3.co.uk that the trial's location was carefully chosen to test a live 4G network in a difficult rural environment to gain insight into such rollouts for the future.

"Cornwall was selected because it provides the right geography for a trial designed to test the viability of an alternative technology to deliver high-speed broadband to customers in rural areas," the spokesperson said.

"If the solution being trialled proves technically and commercially viable, and if it gets implemented on a commercial basis, all areas of the UK with a rural demographic will benefit."

Volunteers keen to test the service can register at the 4G Wireless Broadband Trial site. Participation is free, and equipment is supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei, which recently announced a contract to upgrade Everything Everywhere's 2G network.

Stephen Hartley, a principal analyst at Ovum, told V3.co.uk it is good news that the UK's mobile infrastructure is improving, but also highlights the extent to which the country is behind in global terms.

"I think the upside is it's a sign that LTE is on its way, and that we're getting there at least, but it's been done in Germany and the US already. There are some 20 networks live across the world, so it shows the UK's position in context with other nations," he said.

Full-scale live 4G networks are not expected until 2014 after the auctions for the 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum bands ideal for 4G services are completed.

Nevertheless, it is regarded as a key technology to close the digital divide, so those in Whitehall will no doubt take a keen interest in how the service performs, especially with MPs urging Ofcom to raise the limit of coverage obligations from 95 to 98 per cent for 4G services.

The trial also marks another development in the Cornish broadband landscape after BT announced that it will supply every citizen in the county with access to high-speed broadband thanks to a grant from the European Commission.

Map of coverage area of 4G trial in Cornwall, courtesy of BT and Everything Everywhere.