Everything Everywhere, which will now be known as just EE, will continue the rollout into the new year, and aims to provide 4G to 98% of the UK by 2014. 4G coverage in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol is currently being tested ahead of launching in "weeks". Rivals have voiced concerns that EE had been given an unfair headstart by launching first. Other cities to get the high-speed connectivity are Belfast, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Sheffield and Southampton. 'Spout unstoppably' 4G mobile technology will mean all of these locations will benefit from improved network access speeds, even indoors. Speaking at the event, London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "I barely understand it, but information will spout unstoppably from these gizmos. "It will bring huge advantages to anyone living or working in London." Further rollout could prove a boon to rural areas where fixed line broadband speeds are poor. EE will offer several handsets to use with the service. Within the year, these will be Samsung's Galaxy S III LTE; HTC's One XL and Huawei's Ascend P1 LTE. The company will also offer Nokia's Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 - the latter of which the company has as an exclusive deal. In addition, other devices will be launched to allow customers to connect existing equipment - such as a laptop - to the 4G network. "4G will bring a more reliable connection," EE chief executive Olaf Swantee told the BBC. "When you see that it can do so much more than the current network, people will have a great appetite for it." The use of 4G will create a huge demand for data, he said - meaning networks would need to be updated. "Our networks can cope for now but they are not future-proofed." However, he refused to be drawn on media reports that Ofcom had brokered a peace deal between operators who were said to be angry at EE's early access to the 4G spectrum. But he did say that threats of legal action were shortsighted. "Stop using lawyers. We need to move on and get 4G infrastructure in place."
11 September 2012 Last updated at 12:21
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19543042
Category: Feature , Tech Reviews
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