News - UK, Germany to work together on 5G networks says Cameron

[HEXUS]

British and German universities to collaborate on mobile connectivity standard.

Read more.

[krazy_olie]

Erm, that's an ambitious speedup?

[AlexKitch]

I still can't even get stable 3G here in Cheshire

[aidanjt]

I still can't even get stable 3G here in Cheshire

Same. Although 4G is suppose to help with signal attenuation, and I imagine they'll have similar design aspirations for 5G.

[scaryjim]

800MB, 1s? So, a >6.4Gbps network .. perhaps 10Gbps wireless? Yowzers.

Also, burn through a entire month's data in < 1s? Niiiice....

[cheesemp]

800MB, 1s? So, a >6.4Gbps network .. perhaps 10Gbps wireless? Yowzers.

Also, burn through a entire month's data in < 1s? Niiiice....

This is what makes me laugh with 4G... What use is 50Mb connection with a 500Mb limit... Personally I'd rather the mobile operators took the investment cash and improved reception and download limits myself rather than spending it on 4G/5G.

[miniyazz]

Also 800MB in 40s with 4G - wut?

Last I checked we weren't hitting 160Mbps connection speeds!

[LSG501]

I still can't even get stable 3G here in Cheshire

same here.... although I am in a village rather than a town, hell I've only just got adsl2 with the odds of fibre being so low that I have better odds of winning the lottery (which I don't play lol) so getting 4g/5g is even lower lol

What makes me laugh the most is how out of touch Cameron is in regards to this, most mobile networks limit you to about 3gigs a month if you are lucky, even when it's unlimited, thats about 2 hd movies.... isn't it about time that the download limits got sorted out, it's already extortionately high per gig compared with a landline.

[Spud1]

This is some good news - and really makes you wonder if FTTP will ever be justifiable for the vast majority of the population, given how quickly wireless "broadband" is starting to speed up. Latency is the current big issue with all wireless broadband, but if they can truly crack that...for consumer use I can see wireless being the standard.

Admittedly we're only there with cities at the moment - up here in Manchester I get a stable 20-30meg connection on 4G - considering 5 years ago I was struggling to get over 8meg on a hard line..its pretty impressive.

Data limits are the other big frustration - although I completely disagree with people who say that "4G is useless with a data limit" and similar statements - it does limit how much you can use it, but the main benefits (much faster web browsing, downloading and multi-tasking) are still evident and for me at least are the primary drivers. If you don't stream or pirate TV/Movies with it then 4gb or so a month (becoming the standard very quickly now) is more than enough.

I barely use 2gb a month and I use my 4G for web browsing, streaming from google play music, sat nav and connecting to my home PC via splashtop (Great for hearthstone on a train!)..not hit the cap once yet.

[davesom555]

If I could get 4G (and even 3G indoors) with no cap then that would be great. I'd use it for everything. Steam library, downloads, streaming etc. My landline is a 2mbit connection as that's all I can get in my suburban village of about 4000, so if I could get a wireless connection i'd be happy with that.

There is a startup company near me who are in the process of implementing WiMAX masts nearby to provide wireless broadband (similar speeds to 4G). This seems like a great idea for communities that have been abandoned by BT etc, as it has (theoretically) a 20 mile range. Pretty cheap too £28 a month for 30 mb, + £100 for antenna. I really think the government should sideline some of their cash for startups like this.

[crossy]

I still can't even get stable 3G here in Cheshire

Get Jeremy Clarkson on the case (fellow Cheshire resident) ... get him to contact the telecoms companies to tell 'em that you need more pooowwweeeerrrrrr.

Data limits are the other big frustration - although I completely disagree with people who say that "4G is useless with a data limit" and similar statements - it does limit how much you can use it, but the main benefits (much faster web browsing, downloading and multi-tasking) are still evident and for me at least are the primary drivers. If you don't stream or pirate TV/Movies with it then 4gb or so a month (becoming the standard very quickly now) is more than enough.

Only folks who are advertising 4G at the moment are EE and Three - and EE's basic plan is capped at 500MB. If 4G is as good as folks are saying (doubtful at the moment imho) then I figure I need at least parity with what I've got now, which is 1GB. So that's £20+/month - which is a heck of a chunk of change for something I can't use at the moment (3G only phone and in a 4G black spot).

And if this weeks Click is to be believed then we'd be better off using 3G/4G instead of public wifi. What interests me is if Three actually can deliver on their boast to be able to do 4G at the same price as 3G. If so, then uncapped data for £12.90/month on a 1 month contract? Be worth it - even allowing for Three's legendarily poor customer service.

Geting back to the article...

All this talk of 5G and "internet of things" is all very well, but I can't help thinking that we'd be better off making what we've got now work better. So get more fibre out there in the country (no jokes about us all needing more fibre in our digital diet please!) and accelerate the coverage of 4G.

Although the best "internet of things" comment goes to a friend of mine. "Internet of things is it? Oh great, so now my TV, fridge and smartphone can gang up on me to nag me about taking more exercise and eating better. Still it'll give the missus a rest". Somehow I don't think that's what Dave Cameron had in mind.

[Torashin]

I actually laughed out loud when I got to 800MBps. It's all very well and good developing a wireless standard that can deliver those speeds, but nobody is actually going to deliver that speed internet to everyone's phones.

[Spud1]

Only folks who are advertising 4G at the moment are EE and Three - and EE's basic plan is capped at 500MB. If 4G is as good as folks are saying (doubtful at the moment imho) then I figure I need at least parity with what I've got now, which is 1GB. So that's £20+/month - which is a heck of a chunk of change for something I can't use at the moment (3G only phone and in a 4G black spot).

And if this weeks Click is to be believed then we'd be better off using 3G/4G instead of public wifi. What interests me is if Three actually can deliver on their boast to be able to do 4G at the same price as 3G. If so, then uncapped data for £12.90/month on a 1 month contract? Be worth it - even allowing for Three's legendarily poor customer service.

It's a fair point - we're not that far away now though. I am currently paying £20/month and I get unlimited text/calls, and 4GB of 4G data. Thats a 12 month sim-only deal, but it's what I would consider reasonable and is actually cheaper than my old 3G contract (although that one did include a phone). Was not an upgrade either but was a promotion.. So prices are heading in the right direction.

Generally speaking, I prefer to use my 4G over public wifi - it's usually faster and more reliable, and doesn't require sign-ins etc. It's great for tethering too It does obviously rely on signal though, and can only be relied upon in and around cities...but as mentioned, in Manchester I tend to get 20meg ish, which is pretty good!

[MrRockliffe]

800MB, 1s? So, a >6.4Gbps network .. perhaps 10Gbps wireless? Yowzers.

Also, burn through a entire month's data in < 1s? Niiiice....

This is what makes me laugh with 4G... What use is 50Mb connection with a 500Mb limit... Personally I'd rather the mobile operators took the investment cash and improved reception and download limits myself rather than spending it on 4G/5G.

Sorry, don't have mobile data limits here on 3 Mobile

[miniyazz]

Only folks who are advertising 4G at the moment are EE and Three - and EE's basic plan is capped at 500MB. If 4G is as good as folks are saying (doubtful at the moment imho) then I figure I need at least parity with what I've got now, which is 1GB. So that's £20+/month - which is a heck of a chunk of change for something I can't use at the moment (3G only phone and in a 4G black spot).

And if this weeks Click is to be believed then we'd be better off using 3G/4G instead of public wifi. What interests me is if Three actually can deliver on their boast to be able to do 4G at the same price as 3G. If so, then uncapped data for £12.90/month on a 1 month contract? Be worth it - even allowing for Three's legendarily poor customer service.

I'm on Three's One Plan which has 2,000 minutes, 5,000 3-3 minutes and 5,000 texts with unlimited data and tethering included. How much? £18/month on a one month rolling contract (I think it's £15/month for a 12-month plan).

I pre-emptively bought a 4G-capable handset 18 months ago and having been working in Manchester and Liverpool recently, I've noticed 4G access some of the time with speeds around 3-4MB/s (daytime). This compared to my usual speed of up to ~1MB/s (night-time; more usually up to 500KBps except at peak times when more like 50-200KB/s).
I've not had a chance to properly test it out as I'm no longer working in the area but I can confirm that Three are delivering on their 4G promise at the same price as 3G - even on their tethering-included packages. More power to them.

[crossy]

Sorry, don't have mobile data limits here on 3 Mobile

Okay, your plan doesn't have limits, but unless you're on TOP or Ultimate then you definitely will have a data cap - that said, nice to see that Three is continuing to prove that they've more of a clue how smartphone users want to use their devices than ANY of the other providers. Personally, any 3G plan with a 500MB data cap shouldn't cost more than a tenner unless you're adding all kinds of other services.

I've not had a chance to properly test it out as I'm no longer working in the area but I can confirm that Three are delivering on their 4G promise at the same price as 3G - even on their tethering-included packages. More power to them.

Hmm, tethering is something I'm missing on my current Virgin Media plan - did have it with EE, but then again I suppose that's the "cost" of saving myself £7/month when I switched. And as you say, if Three are putting their money where their mouth is on the "4G for the cost of 3G" then they deserve credit. With that out of the way though, I'm cynical enough to suspect that when a lot of folks start hitting the 4G that the price of the tether-enabled packages is going to go up, (to try and control the network hit).

Does leave the question - if Three can do a decent package for a decent price then why can't the competition - is it stupidity, inertia or avarice? I'll be charitable and say "inertia" - that the old, established companies still have the text 'n' calls 2G mindset.

Sorry if this sounds like an advert for Three, but if they're doing something right then isn't it correct to praise them for it?