High-speed broadband services get free trials in Cornwall

Everything Everywhere and BT Wholesale are to conduct the first live trial of next-generation 4G LTE high-speed broadband in rural England.

According to Everything Everywhere, the live proof-of-concept trial is the first of its kind in the UK and will see the two companies sharing their fixed telecommunications and mobile technology to provide high-speed wireless broadband to customers in Cornwall.

An initial test at BT’s laboratories at Adastral Park in Suffolk is already underway, with the field trial set to test realistic 4G broadband data speeds outside of laboratory conditions.

The field trial will start this September and run to early next year, involving up to 100 mobile and 100 fixed-line customers living around the St Newlyn East area of South Newquay, Cornwall.

Laboratory and live field phases will test the application of 4G LTE as a shared fixed and mobile platform.

The field trial will reportedly utilise 2 x 10MHz of test 800MHz spectrum and will test its capability as a long-term complementary solution to fixed broadband technology for customers who currently get low speeds or are unable to get broadband. 

‘Our work with BT is providing a test bed for new technologies such as 4G LTE which, with the correct allocation of sub 1GHz spectrum from the government, has the potential to make a real impact on the way in which we communicate in the future,’ said Tom Alexander, chief executive officer of Everything Everywhere.

The trial will take place at test sites south of Newquay in Cornwall, providing a combined coverage area of 25km2, with approximately 700 premises that have no or limited access to broadband services today.

Residents in and around St Newlyn East can learn more about the trial and sign up to participate at this address: http://www.4Gwirelessbroadbandtrial.co.uk