UK operator EE has today launched what it claims is the world’s fastest 4G network in London’s Tech City.
The new network will offer up to 300 Mbps speeds using LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation technology provided by Huawei to bring together 20MHz of 1800 MHz spectrum and 20MHz of 2.6 GHz spectrum.
The operator has plans to trial further features of LTE-Advanced throughout 2014 with a view to expanding the high-speed network across the UK, in preparation for ultra high-definition 4K TV, which is expected to stream at 20Mbps.
Entertainment aside, EE is gunning for the enterprise market, particularly looking at the needs of financial institutions, who are reliant on the secure transfer of large volumes of data, as well as high-data business applications such as ERP and SAP, which can benefit from cloud-based wireless working.
To further support mobile working, Huawei is providing an 802.11ac Category 6 router, which connects to the CAT6 GigE cable to enable high-speed mobile Wi-Fi connections for up to 20 devices.
802.11ac-enabled devices will be able to access speeds up to 200Mbps using these new “Mobile Wi-Fi” units, which will be available from summer 2014.
“Our analysts predict that data usage will grow significantly over the next three years. In fact, our trend-mapping shows that data usage is set to rise by 750 percent in that period, as consumers and companies conduct more of their business and lives on-line,” said EE CEO Olaf Swantee.
“The network we’re switching on today in Tech City uses the spectrum that we acquired in the Ofcom spectrum auction earlier this year, and is the first part of an infrastructure that can meet the future demands of an increasingly data-hungry nation, enabling us to stay one-step ahead of the demand.”
Huawei UK chief executive Victor Zhang said the launch is a “vital step in the future of the UK’s mobile broadband infrastructure”.
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