Everything Everywhere sets aside £1.5bn for 3G, 4G upgrades

Everything Everywhere earlier collaborated with BT Broadband to launch a 4G trial in Cornwall earlier this year. One of the goals of the trial was to determine whether or not 4G broadband would be a feasible technology to be offered alongside fixed-line broadband services.

Some results from the trial were unveiled recently, with the operators announcing that some of the participants of the trial were able to hit ADSL speeds. Everything Everywhere CEO Olaf Swantee stated: “We’re not only demonstrating LTE for mobile, but for fixed purposes as well. It is my belief, and Everything Everywhere’s belief, that the UK needs 4G. Scandanavia, the US, Germany – all of these regions are already deploying 4G. It’s my belief the UK needs to start deploying 4G now.”

Upgrading existing networks will obviously require a huge investment. Everything Everywhere is set on making such a move for 3G and 4G upgrades that amount to approximately £1.5 billion. The operator is planning to spread the upgrades over the next three years in order to improve the speed and reliability of their services.

Now Everything Everywhere is set on upgrading its “network evolution programme” by creating the broadest 3G coverage that the UK has yet to see or experience. In a statement, Swantee said: “We believe that the UK requires a 21st-century infrastructure and are committed to rolling out 4G as soon as possible to support growing data use, connect parts of the country with little or no mobile broadband, and drive economic growth.”

Aside from 3G upgrades, Everything Everywhere will also make sure that the equipment they will be bringing in can be easily upgraded to 4G. The firm is also planning to upgrade the backhaul so as to “achieve even faster data speeds.”

Source – ZDNet