Everything Everywhere and BT extend Cornish 4G trial until June

Everything Everywhere and BT have extended their trial of 4G technology in a remote region of Cornwall until June 2012 after the initial tests proved successful at providing high-speed internet access.

The 4G trial started in October 2011 using the 800MHz spectrum and has provided wireless broadband to 180 test customers living in and around St. Newlyn East.

Ofcom has granted an extension to the licence after the success of the first few months of the trial to give the firms more time to further investigate the benefits of LTE in rural areas.

In a joint statement Everything Everywhere and BT said the trial demonstrated that fixed and mobile technologies can work together to provide a broadband delivery option for rural areas.

"The LTE trialists previously had no broadband or struggled to get speeds of 2Mbit/s," the firms said.

"Thanks to the trial, participants are now reaching an average download speed of 7Mbit/s, enabling them to access a range of content including on-demand television, HD video and VoIP services."

Olaf Swantee, chief executive of Everything Everywhere, added that the rollout of 4G will help drive economic growth and create jobs across the UK by making the nation more competitive.

"This trial has been key in investigating ways to rapidly bring 4G LTE to Britain, and Ofcom is helping us do the groundwork to accelerate the UK from laggard to leader," he said.

"We continue to also assess other potential solutions including other mobile and wireless technologies."

LTE networks are scheduled to go live in 2014, and with the success of the trial it looks like it will play a major role in addressing the digital divide in the UK.

The 4G trial coverage area.