Mobile Broadband LTE Trials Begin In Cornwall

The first UK trial of high speed mobile broadband using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology is now under way in Cornwall.

Mobile operator Clear Mobitel is making use of the airwave spectrum that has been freed up thanks to the switch from analogue TV to digital services in that area. This allows them to provide fourth generation (4G) mobile broadband services to the region.

CEO and founder of Clear Mobitel, Harpal Mann, said: “The purpose of the trial is to assess the performance of LTE to provide viable solutions in providing high speed broadband services to the rural consumer.”

“This is not just a trial of rural broadband solutions based on LTE for Cornwall, it is a trial which has global ramifications for rural economies that have been shattered by the effects of the global recession.”

Taking place in the Caradon Hill area of Cornwall, Mann expects the 4G technology to deliver rural mobile broadband speeds of between 12Mb and 15Mb in the trial.

Currently, the limit for delivering a broadband connection using conventional copper wire lines is a distance of 5km from the nearest telephone exchange. This can cause rural areas to have poor or non-existent internet access.

Mobile broadband on the other hand operates via the mobile phone network and therefore doesn’t rely on a fixed line connection. The hope is that the increased mobile broadband speed offered by 4G will enable more users in rural areas to have access to a high speed broadband connection.