Broadband Guide

4G mobile broadband

Updated: Thursday 24 May, 2012

By Anthony Hill

The "fourth generation" of mobile broadband, better known as 4G, will eventually mean we have superfast internet wherever we go...

Current mobile broadband speeds

Mobile broadband often delivers speeds noticeably slower than most people's home internet connection. Speeds vary a lot depending on the strength of 3G signal you're receiving, but can range anywhere up to 14Mb.

The current 3G networks are being strained by the millions of customers accessing the web from their laptop using a mobile broadband dongle or on their smartphone phone, so average actual download speeds are only around 1Mb.

What is 4G mobile broadband?

There are several wireless technologies being developed around the world for widespread, superfast internet access.

In Britain, the technology moving mobile broadband forward is known as Long Term Evolution (LTE). Once commercially available, it could give us similar - or even faster - download speeds to what we get at home.

Using LTE, mobile operator O2 (www.O2.co.uk) has trialled speeds of 150Mb. However, as with all broadband connections, a variety of factors affect download speeds and it is estimated to deliver actual speeds of between 15Mb and 30Mb.

More recently, a company called UK Broadband launched the UK's first 4G mobile network in the London borough of Southwark. In download tests it frequently hits speeds of more than 50Mb.

The benefits of 4G mobile broadband

It’s not just download speeds that will improve with the next generation of mobile broadband. 4G would also eliminate the issue of tight download allowances.

LTE technology is far more efficient than the 3G mobile broadband networks currently in place in the UK, meaning that networks wouldn’t become clogged up with users as millions of people sign up and log on.

At the moment, transferring data over 3G is still quite expensive, and providers offer tariffs ranging from 500MB to 15GB, costing anything from just a few pounds to £25 or £30 a month. Moving up to a 4G network would change all that.

When it's finally made widely available, 4G is expected to deliver:

• Regular speeds of 15Mb to 40Mb and a maximum of over 100Mb
• Far higher download allowances
• The potential for an always-on mobile broadband connection
• Greater efficiency
• Seamless roaming when using your mobile broadband connection abroad
• The ability to connect when travelling at high speeds in a car or on a train

When will 4G hit the UK?

Despite the benefits of 4G, the question of when it will actually be available to most people in Britain is still unanswered.

A number of European countries, including Sweden and Norway, have already made good progress on setting up some of the world's first 4G networks. In the US, broadband provider Verizon has launched its own LTE service.

Unfortunately, in the UK it could still be a long way off. Mobile broadband providers are unable to start offering 4G services until an auction of available radio spectrum takes place in late 2012.

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