4G “to become the default” over next few years, says EE

Your smartphone will be able to connect to faster networks than ever before by the end of the year, an EE spokesperson has claimed.

EE’s director of network services and devices Tom Bennett said that 4G networks will become the default connection for all devices over the course of the next few years as more and more people get connected.

Highlighting the fact that EE’s 4G network currently covers 73% of the population, including nearly half of the country’s busiest motorways, A roads, airports and train stations, Bennett explained how EE hoped to trial 800MHz services by the end of the year as part of a move to ensure the operator increases this to 98% by the end of 2015.

Last November, the operator launched an 4G LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network in collaboration with Huawei in London’s Tech City area, which promised download speeds of up to 300MBps.

This new superfast connectivity will play a central part in dealing with the explosion of data from the Internet of Things, Bennett explained, saying that by 2020, there will be over 50 billion connected devices across the world, with the average UK consumers having 27 connected devices.

Superfast

Qualcomm’s European president Enrico Salvatori highlighted how Europe as a whole is taking a leading position in the launch and expansion of LTE networks, with 36m subscribers currently signed up to nearly 100 LTE networks across the continent, with around 1,300 LTE-ready devices currently available.

This number is only set to grow as consumers purchase 4G-ready devices, and is set to reach 557m subscribers across Europe by 2020, a 15x increase in customers and a much faster adoption rate than that seen for 3G.

Bennett stated that this growth is down to a number of contributing factors, including the fact that consumers are upgrading their smartphones at a much faster rate than they would with their PC or television, meaning the most up-to-date technology becomes available more quickly.

This technology includes the latest generation of LTE connectivity, Category 6 (Cat. 6), which should go a long way to facilitating a more media-friendly user experience than ever before. Bennett stated that he believes Cat 6 connectivity will become widespread over the next 12 months as more manufacturers and suppliers include the technology in their devices.

Qualcomm says that its Snapdragon 805, which supports LTE-A Cat 6 networks, will allow users to shoot and capture 4K video and images, whilst also enjoying 4K gaming on a mobile device, alongside the expected benefits of faster and more reliable internet connectivity.

The recently launched LTE-A capable Samsung Galaxy S5 in Korea, powered by the Snapdragon 805, was the first time a device featuring such advanced connectivity was commercially available, Salvatori said, but more devices powered by the processor should go on sale before the end of the year.