This is a good plan, generally. The only thing is that the networks must not be permitted to cause any further delays. We are already 18 - 24 months behind the rest of Europe!
This is a good plan, generally. The only thing is that the networks must not be permitted to cause any further delays. We are already 18 - 24 months behind the rest of Europe!
The level of coverage is always going to be contentious, particularly in the more rural regions.
As Hands0n says above, this needs to be sorted quickly. My home broadband is going to be 100Mbps by the time I get 4G (and maybe faster if I pay for it) so the mobile operators will need to be competing with that, otherwise what is the point?
At the minute I'd take getting 3G everywhere, not just in rural areas but within buildings.
What is happening to 2G (GSM?) when we finally get 4G?
I think there'll be thin GSM coverage around for some time yet. I'm not sure how it works technically, but I think it can hang on even with WCDMA slowly encroaching on its territory.Originally Posted by gorilla
so would we see 2G + 3G + 4G sim cards or do you think we will see 3G + 4G only sim cards?
I predict that SIMs will allow access to all technologies, and that support will instead depend on handset for the time being. That's only a personal prediction, though.
I think there's the potential to see networks granting LTE-only access on consumer tariffs once coverage is sufficient. But most if not all GSM networks in the UK will need to maintain GSM capabilities for some time yet if only to support deployed M2M solutions (things like chip-and-pin machines are still being sold on 2G now), so I'm not sure they'll be fussed about it.
I'm not sure what the issue was when 3G launched. Part of it seemed to be about supplying more capable SIM cards (perhaps there were security implications), but part of it also seemed to be about restricting access to the new network, trying to retain some level of control initially until all the kinks were worked out.
True, although the spectrum isn't available yet anyway so I don't think the auction delay will push back actual roll-out by too much. I would assume all of the networks will be planning how they're going to roll out LTE based upon what spectrum allocation they anticipate getting.Originally Posted by Hands0n