Over 25 4G sites will go live this month covering a combined area of 40 sq m between now and June 2012. The network has been carefully designed to cover key areas of the city, including Canary Wharf, Soho, Westminster, South Bank and Kings Cross.
Ronan Dunne, CEO of Telefónica UK, said: “Our work in London will give us a better understanding of the capabilities of 4G technology and will allow us to explore the superfast benefits it will bring to people and industry across the UK. This 4G trial is the next step on our journey to a smarter network - a network that offers a seamless, connected experience across multiple devices, locations and services.”
The 4G trial will use the 2.6GHz spectrum band under a test and development licence granted to O2 by UK regulator OFCOM, and is an expansion of O2’s earlier 4G trials conducted in Slough that have been running since 2009. The 2.6GHz band supports the maximum 20MHz radio frequency bandwidth for LTE. It will allow 4G speeds of up to 150Mbps.
Telefónica UK’s 4G trial network has been deployed using equipment supplied by Nokia Siemens Networks for both the radio and core network elements. Backhaul for the 4G trial network has been provided using Microwave Radio Equipment from Cambridge Broadband Networks Limited, NEC and Nokia Siemens Networks.
