Everything Everywhere have been given the green light by Ofcom to, in principle, use some of their 1800MHz spectrum to roll out LTE.
T-Mobile and Orange already use 1800MHz for their existing 2G networks, but have enough “room” to roll out 4G LTE ahead of other networks, who have to wait for the 4G spectrum auction later in the year.
Things can’t start just yet though, and a consultation period now opens up which will probably involve other networks strongly disagreeing with the move. Vodafone have already told the BBC that…
It comes as a surprise that the regulator is now considering giving the largest player in the market permission to use its existing spectrum for 4G services before the rules for the auction have even been concluded or it has divested spectrum as required by the European Commission.
We seriously doubt that consumers’ best interests will be served by giving one company a significant head start before any of its competitors have a clear path to 4G.
Ouch..
LTE cant come soon enough… Roll on Everything Everywhere
Ironic that Orange may be the first to roll out LTE, yet are the most restrictive on data usage. Will they still think 500MB per month is enough after they roll this out?