People living in UK areas with 4G coverage can look forward to cheaper bills and tariffs soon, says industry regulator Ofcom. A decision has been made to free up more spectrum, with some frequencies being used for digital TV being switched for mobile broadband. However, 4G users shouldn’t get excited just yet, as the change is planned for 2020 at the earliest. It’s believed that the change will provide significant benefits for people living not only in rural areas but in cities too.
Mark Newman of Ovum said “ there are still some places that are not going to be reached by 2022, and this will help.” He claimed that it would help people living in built-up areas because “the 700MHz frequency band is better able to pass through walls and other objects than higher frequencies”. Newman said that areas of cities like London with poor mobile broadband coverage will benefit significantly.
Ofcom predicts that bills will be cut after capacity is increased. They expect network cost savings to be passed onto customers in the form of cheaper tariffs. Answering concerns about television coverage, it said that viewers wouldn’t have to worry about facing another “switchover”. It did say that theatres, music events teams and sports venues would have to think about upgrading their kit to be ready for the changes, which are due to take place between 2020 and 2022.
So, do you live in a rural or built-up area in the UK? Do you think it will be worth the wait? Let us know your thoughts below.
