Friday, August 24, 2012

Return of 4G?

The news today mentions that Everything Everywhere - the Orange/T-Mobile link up who where part of the 4G trials here in Cornwall - have been granted permission by Ofcom to start offering 4G connections.
They are slightly different to our trial - these are a different frequency I understand - but still should be a lot better than the "service" I am getting from Talk Talk (alleged 512kb "broadband" which works for 75% of the time...).

The report on the Pirate FM website quotes one of the trialists from back in the summer and then says that the 4G service may well be available in Cornwall by next month....

I shall believe that when I see it!

It will be interesting to see how much a commercial roll out of the 4G system will cost. Bearing in mind the claim the other day that average broadband speeds in the UK are now 9Mb, the stable service we had on 4G was 4Mb - so in theory, we should be paying 4/9ths of the price on average? Even if we allow for the extra expense of setting up 4G, then how about a similar price as the 10Mb ish services offered by the main ISPs? So around 15-20 quid per month?
When asked during the trial, users stated a reasonable price as being 20 to maximum of 25 quid per month - and I am happy to pay that.
I honestly expect the 4G roll out to -

1) Only be available in London
2) Cost a lot more than £20 -£25 per month
3) Be unreliable at first, despite the trials.

I would love to have my Huawei 4G router back! It was relaible, reasoanble speed and a good service.

1 comment:

Bryallen said...

It'll be interesting to see how your predictions unfold. Surely London has already got enough internet connections; better to roll it out for people who are otherwise screwed over!