While EE scrambles to spread its LTE network far and wide before the other UK carriers get into the 4G business, it also wants to flex some spectrum muscle. The network’s announced it’s planning to double the LTE allocation on its 1800MHz band (from 2 x 10MHz to 2 x 20MHz), which it claims will increase download speeds to an average of 20 Mbps, topping out at 80 Mbps. Ten of the 11 original 4G launch cities will be seeing this bandwidth boost first: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. EE doesn’t want you to think it’s done expanding, though, and says it’ll continue to make use of its MHz and GHz by rolling out boring, normal LTE in new areas whilst doubling up in others. The first ten cities are due to receive “double-speed” 4G by summer, which we assume means around the time summer is supposed to happen.
Update: EE’s Howard Jones has added on Twitter that the network will start trialing carrier aggregation, LTE-A (that’s even better 4G) later in 2013. We’ve asked for more details and will fill you in when we hear more.
EE will be trialling carrier aggregation, LTE-A, for 4G within 2013. We’ll be the first anywhere in the world to do so. #onestepahead
[Image credit: Lazygamer,Flickr]
Read more http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/09/ee-to-double-4g-lte-spectrum-allocation/
