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Bristol has been selected as one of four UK cities to test superfast 4G mobile internet ahead of a national roll-out.
Mobile network Everything Everywhere, which includes Bristol-based mobile brand Orange and T-Mobile, said the service had been switched on for live testing in Bristol, along with London, Cardiff and Birmingham, in readiness for the customer launch in a few weeks.
Everything Everywhere, now known as just EE, aims to provide 4G to 98% of the UK by 2014.
It will be the first brand in the country to have a mobile 4G service offering mobile internet at speeds typically five times faster than today’s 3G.
EE will also launch a fibre broadband service to homes and businesses with fixed-line internet speeds typically 10 times faster than today’s average broadband speeds.
Some 16 areas of the country will be connected to 4G by Christmas – London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton.
EE chief executive Olaf Swantee said: “Today we launch a new company, a new network and a new brand for Britain.
“Our plans to revolutionise the UK communications market with a faster network and an exciting new brand for the digital age are built on solid investment and a simple belief that customers deserve better.
“We look forward to connecting the country with superfast mobile speeds in the coming weeks, months and years.
“And it starts today, with the announcement of our new business, our new brand and a new digital infrastructure that our company, our customers and the country can be proud of.”
EE will offer several handsets to use with the service. Within the year, these will be Samsung’s Galaxy S III LTE; HTC’s One XL and Huawei’s Ascend P1 LTE.
The company will also offer Nokia’s Lumia 820 and Lumia 920 – the latter of which the company has as an exclusive deal.
