Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale joined forces to launch the UK's first trial of LTE in 800MHz spectrum. The trial is happening in Cornwall, SW England, and involves 200 consumers. The users are split equally between mobile and fixed and presently have poor or no broadband service.
The trial, which will run until early next year, follows an eight-week lab test to simulate how the LTE network could be shared, managed and optimised between the two service providers. The two firms announced their intent to test LTE at 800MHz in May, but the timing of the trial was delayed as details were finalized and NSN and Huawei assembled their equipment.
Everything Everywhere and BT say that those involved with the trial will have access to a dedicated help desk and a website for customer support. They will be asked to provide details on their experiences in the user forum, complete set tasks and attend regular focus groups so that the companies can gain further insight into the progress of the trial.
Commenting on the launch of the trial, Olaf Swantee, CEO of Everything Everywhere, said: "Soon, more people will be accessing the Internet on their mobile devices than on their PCs, and that means we need the right kind of networks in place to deliver the right kind of experience for our customers."
For more:
- see this Mobile Europe article
- see this Tech Radar article
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