Clear Mobitel (CM), which aims to deliver the next generation of internet services at breakneck speeds, has announced the first live UK consumer trial of superfast 4G ( Long Term Evolution - LTE ) based Mobile Broadband services over the 800MHz Digital Dividend wireless radio spectrum band in Cornwall.

CM will conduct the LTE trial in a zone which is centred on the Caradon Hill area of East Cornwall. The trial will use solutions based on its own LTE end-user devices to connect Not Spot rural area consumers that either have no broadband or poor broadband service.

The situation was complicated by the fact that Ofcom will not begin its official auction of 800MHz licences for at least another year, which is ironically the same amount of time that CM took to attain a trial licence. The band is currently used for old analogue Television (TV) signals, which have been switch-off in the area for awhile.


Mobile operator O2 UK (Telefonica) is also running a successful live trial of next generation Long Term Evolution ( LTE ) Mobile Broadband technology in the Slough area (here), where the operators headquarters are based. Peak cell download speeds of 150Mbps (Megabits per second) have already been measured, though future 4G generations of LTE could hit 1Gbps.

We note that Clear Mobitel has also achieved a recommendation of allocation in the 2600MHz band in Jersey to operate a 4G LTE network from the Jersey Competition and Regulatory Authority (JCRA).

Clear Mobitel was awarded a telecommunications operator licence in Jersey in 2009 and subsequently achieved a 20 + 20MHz FDD channel block recommendation of allocation in the 2600MHz band from the JCRA following an extensive consultation on the same band last year.