Posted: 15th Jul, 2010 By: MarkJ
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.
Harpal Mann, CEO and Founder of Clear Mobitel, said:
"This trial is one of the most important projects in the company at present. This is not just a trial of rural broadband solutions based on LTE for Cornwall, it is a trial which has global ramifications for rural economies that have been shattered by the effects of the global recession.
This trial marks an important step forward in assessing how LTE can make a valuable contribution in delivering solutions to meet the rural high speed broadband challenge. Cornwall is an excellent area to conduct such a trial given it is deeply rural in nature and also the fact that the 800MHz band is largely dormant due to the completion of the switch from analogue to digital terrestrial TV transmission.
We are looking to gather vitally important data about such a deployment scenario using LTE technology during this trial and how it can assist in providing the benefits of high speed broadband to all rural consumers."
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.