The UK’s biggest network (for now) EE has been showing off its new 4G+ network at Wembley stadium.
The new network technology is capable of attaining download speeds of up to 400Mbps, which is more than four times that of current fixed broadband offerings.
More importantly, this extra capacity allows for more users within the same area to perform 4G tasks simultaneously – something that will be music to the ears of UK city dwellers.
You’ll need a new smartphone to handle this new technology – specifically a phone with a Cat 9 radio. These will be commercially available in the UK when the faster service rolls out in 2016.
Of course, it’s also rumoured that the HTC One M9 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 will feature Cat 9 technology, and they’re likely to be released within a month.
As Recombu reports, EE has partnered up with Qualcomm and Huawei to launch this demonstration of LTE-Advanced technology, which EE calls 4G+. The network achieved these speeds by combining its three different spectrum bands – 800MHz, 1800MHz, and 2.6GHz.
Naturally, this will limit the reach of EE’s superfast 4G standard somewhat. EE anticipates that it will be able to reach 20 UK cities with 4G+ coverage by 2017.
Related: 5G researchers crack 1Tbps data transfer at UK university
For now, London’s Wembley stadium will host the LTE-Advanced technology, which means that it should be able to handle the strain of 90,000 fans all tweeting and messaging at once. They’ll also be able to stream HD replay footage at half time.
While it’ll obviously only cover EE customers at first, the network is working on a cross-network service for England’s national stadium.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
