Everything Everywhere and BT Trial 4G Wireless In Rural Britain

Britain has kicked off its 4G trial for mobile broadband. The county of Cornwall was selected by BT and Everything Everywhere two of the country’s leading telecom providers.  The technology which promises to offer better wireless broadband speed for those in rural areas where wired is not feasible.  The telegraph said Around 200 households in St. Newlyn East and South Newquay are selected to participate in the trial.

With possible 4G wireless speed of up to 150Mbps downstream, the trial will offer speed of around 10Mbps to start with. 4G technology has come as a life line to both homes and businesses located outside of major towns and cities, where  some internet connections are way behind in achieving the standard broadband speed of up to 10Mbps.

The UK government has set it self a target to offer superfast internet access to UK homes and as such has set-a-side £530 million in grants.  According to Mr. Ed Vaizey when the funding was announced, “Creating this superfast broadband network will help improve the economic and social prospects of the homes and businesses where high-speed internet access remains just a dream.”

The new 4G network is based on the LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard, which offers better wireless communication. In countries such as the US, utility companies have formed partnership to roll out smart grid solutions using the 4G infrastructure.  Although this is a far way off for the UK I can see us doing the same when the infrastructure is capable. Another market stand to benefit from the roll out of 4g is the connected car.