Fourth Generation wireless broadband from communications company EE, which is currently available in parts of rural Cumbria, is set to be extended to Bodmin Moor by next summer.
EE informed local Lib Dem MP Dan Rogerson about the news after he visited Cumbria to find out more about how the new technology is helping local residents and businesses in rural areas, who have previously struggled to get access to decent broadband internet.
4G wireless broadband presents a new opportunity to enable superfast mobile broadband in areas where traditional ‘fixed’ services have been hard to reach.
Rogerson has long campaigned to bring decent broadband to notorious ‘not spot’ areas where homes and businesses have been unable to connect to broadband.
Speaking about the new 4G technology and plans to extend it to Bodmin Moor, he said: “For areas where rolling out traditional broadband is proving difficult, this new 4G technology offers hope to local people and businesses alike. The news that EE are extending their technology to the Bodmin Moor area next year is good news for local residents and for the Cornish economy.
“I don’t believe any rural business should be held back because of its location. Improving access to broadband will help us build a stronger economy and fairer society, allowing rural communities to grow and profit by getting online and investing in modern projects and technologies.”
This sounds like a tentative step in the right direction.
I’ll wait and see what coverage is like before I hang out the flags though. While I expect they will be using 800Mhz and therefore they will have deeper coverage than the existing EE services now there is also the issue of cost. Currently 20GB of data a month will cost you £58 on EE.
The cost doesn’t compare well with ‘Three’ at £16 a month for 15GB, However, ‘Three’ is at 2100MHz giving poorer coverage from the same transmitter sites and is currently only 3G Having said that it is possible to get reasonable Broadband from ‘Three’ in those areas with coverage (3-4Mb D/L). Satellite will give you 20GB for £35 month but has a number of technical issues which can lead to a less than ideal experience, even 4G has poorer performance in terms of ping (round trip time) than wired/fibre services.
As I said I welcome the investment in 4G on Bodmin Moor by EE, but would be very cautious until the coverage / capacity is better understood. Many people living on the Moor will tell you existing cellular coverage, both voice and data, is very hit and miss.
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