Yesterday TeliaSonera turned on the world’s first commercial LTE network, and earlier this month I posted a lengthy list of operators around the world currently committed or trialing LTE equipment. Add O2 to that list, they’ve just successfully completed a test of Huawei equipment in the Slough area of the UK, where O2 headquarters are located, and achieved a download speed of 150 Mbps!
Derek McManus, CTO of O2 UK, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with Huawei on this LTE trial, which will allow us to better understand this emerging technology and prepare us in offering our customers next generation mobile broadband services in the future.”
Pablo Chen, Head of Huawei Telefónica O2 Key Account, said: “Huawei is very keen to be involved with the Telefónica O2 UK trials for LTE/SAE technology. We have demonstrated our state-of-the-art mobile technologies and capability to deliver on our promise. These trials will give an excellent reference to Telefónica O2 for the evaluation of LTE technology.”
No word on when O2, or any other UK operator, will go live with their LTE network. The 2.6 GHz spectrum that most, if not all EU operators will use for LTE has yet to be auctioned off in the UK. Estimates peg the auction to occur some time during 2010. Can’t be more specific than that.