O2 To Test Next Generation Mobile Broadband

O2 (o2.co.uk) is to test next generation mobile broadband, known as LTE (Long Term Evolution) within the UK by next summer.
The news comes following an announcement by O2’s parent company Telefonica that it plans to commence LTE test projects in 6 countries including the UK, Spain, the Czech Republic and Germany.
LTE next generation mobile broadband is said to offer maximum download speeds up to 340Mbps. However, these are just theoretical speeds and it is unlikely that customers will experience these maximum speeds.
The O2 LTE field test are likely be carried out by technology suppliers such as Nokia, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent.
When talking about the trials, the COO of Telefonica, Julio Linares said: “At Telefonica we are working with the conviction that we can only offer our clients the maximum levels of quality and innovation. To do this, we are defining our strategy and the rollout of LTE with the objective of driving mobile broadband”.
O2 currently offer mobile broadband speeds up to 3.6Mbps with prices starting from £9.78 a month.