Britain grants first 4G license

LONDON - Ofcom, the regulator for British communication industries, announced on Tuesday that it granted license for operator Everything Everywhere (EE) to use LTE and WiMax technologies, which means EE is the first operator to enter 4G era in Britain.

LTE and WiMax would come into force on 11 September, said Ofcom in a statement.

LTE and WiMax are two technologies that were flagged 4G, while now LTE is more likely to be the 4G standard. Standing for fourth generation, 4G technology is the next generation of mobile internet service, which is supposed to deliver internet download speeds 10 times faster than the 3G service which helped bring the internet to mobile phones just several years ago.

EE said in a statement that "Ofcom's decision to make 4G available this year is great news for the UK. Consumers will soon be able to benefit from the much greater mobile speeds that 4G will deliver".

"4G will drive investment, employment and innovation and we look forward to making it available later this year, delivering superfast mobile broadband to the UK."

EE also said that it will launch a new brand in Britain later this year, which will sit alongside its existing brands Orange and T-Mobile.

Local media pointed out the starting date of EE's 4G license, 11 September, is a day ahead of Apple's rumored 12 September iPhone 5 unveiling.

The latest Apple phone is expected to go on sale in October, although it's not certain that the device will support 4G on the spectrum 1800 MHz band being used by EE for 4G.