Orange and T-Mobile prepare to deploy next-generation mobile network

 

Everything Everywhere also increases current 3G download speeds by 50%.

Everything Everywhere, the company that operates Orange and T-Mobile, has revealed its plans to prepare for 4G - the next-generation mobile network.

The company is rolling out a new 3.5G network. This will improve the current 3G network, and give Orange and T-Mobile customers around 50% extra data download speeds.

It will also increase upload speeds by 100%, making it much faster for users to post things like pictures, music and video online.

To give you an idea of the improvement the new 3G network will deliver, speeds will be fast enough for people to watch high-definition (HD) video on a compatible mobile device through mobile broadband, as they would with fixed-line broadband.

More importantly, Everything Everywhere has laid the foundations for 4G - the successor to 3G - which offers vastly improved download and upload speeds. The company is planning to run a trial of 4G technology in Bristol this April.

4G is seen as one of the potential solutions to the problem of deploying reliable broadband in the country, where customers can be situated a long way from an exchange. Everything Everywhere has been testing 4G in Cornwall since September 2011, and so far the results have been rather positive.

Olaf Swantee, CEO at Everything Everywhere, said: “Everything Everywhere’s vision is to launch 4G for Britain as soon as possible, and the roll-out of 3.5G HSPA+ and our 4G trials across Britain are major steps towards delivering on that promise.

“The integration of the Orange and T-Mobile networks has already given our customers the widest 3G coverage in the UK, and I am pleased to say that with our advanced HSPA+ roll out they will also benefit from the fastest.

“I am also very proud to announce that, subject to regulatory approval by the spring, Everything Everywhere will be in a position to begin the roll-out of 4G before the end of the year.”

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