So, come 2017, I should be able to travel from Kings X to Hull with 100% 4G - apart from dead spots like tunnels.
Well, EE hopes to have 4G available to 98% population by the end of THIS year, but of course population will mean many dead spots in rural areas (like railway lines) but with the introduction of 800MHz on EE (and Three) later this year and early next, I expect you'll see a huge transformation.
VoLTE (also coming this year) will mean voice can be carried over 4G, and that will break the current requirement that there's always 2G or 3G to fall back to for voice. Without that requirement, in theory the current 4G service can be turned up in power - as the current footprint has to fall within existing coverage. Many sites are therefore on a much lower power level than necessary. The downside is that you quite likely need a new handset, even if you have a 4G phone already.
EE and Three at least has most of the UK covered with DC-HSPA 3G, with a fast backhaul, unlike O2 and Vodafone that has loads of ancient 3G kit. Hence why Three and EE users (and those on virtual networks using either of them) currently enjoy pretty good speeds on 3G on trains, even in the middle of nowhere.
Where O2 and Vodafone has upgraded to 4G, you'll get improved 2G and 3G at the same time. That's great, except the roll out is quite patchy - and because each network is so far behind in terms of the base station equipment, you'll have to wait that bit longer. But, I think by 2017 they'll all be fairly close in terms of coverage and capacity.
O2 will always be slowest as it has the least amount of 4G spectrum so can never offer the (max) 300Mbps service that EE and Vodafone have, with Three also owning less spectrum than EE or Vodafone. But of course, Three is in the process of buying O2 and may get to keep the spectrum and combine it - as well as buying more spectrum in future auctions.
The thing is, 4G works so much better than 3G does and you can still get good speeds even on the edge of coverage, whereas 3G is a real problem. Something called 'cell breathing' also creates loads of problems on 3G as the coverage can and will change depending on usage. 4G is much more like 2G.
In the future, I'd hope that all 3G spectrum is refarmed for 4G usage, meaning the whole UK will not only have great coverage, but great speeds too.
Oh, and I believe Network Rail is also in the process of upgrading lineside equipment to offer 4G service to operators, which will hopefully then fill in the remaining gaps - and potentially mean most tunnels get coverage too.
And then we'll be ready for 5G....
PS. O2 got a heavy discount for its 800MHz spectrum, with the requirement to provide a set level of coverage by a deadline I've forgotten (and will have to check). I think it's actually not just a population percentage but a geographic one, so it will mean having to cover areas that otherwise would likely not get any coverage.
But Ofcom has in fact buggered things up a little by not actually requiring blanket 4G coverage, but rather a minimum speed, which could mean that 3G could suffice. I think it's about 2 or 3Mbps, which isn't terrible but certainly not what I think people would have hoped when they heard about it. Still, if the minimum you get even in rural areas is 2Mbps then it's probably going to be okay for everything but video streaming.
Currently I can get 2G GPRS speeds on O2 that are closer to 0.01Mbps - and that's even in large towns. Unless the sites are upgraded (not just to 4G, but also fibred up), rural coverage is next to useless for data.
Because you will always have a signal and everyone has an unlimited data package
Anyone
could get an unlimited package though. And while EE, which arguably has the best 4G coverage by far, tops out at 10GB on SIM-only, you can sign up with BT Mobile and use EE's 4G network and get 20GB for as little as £20 a month (£25 if you don't have a BT phone line). The only catch is that it's capped at 30Mbps.
20GB is a pretty decent offering if you don't fancy going with Three, or one of the virtuals offering unlimited data (but just 3G). TalkTalk will do unlimited 3G data for £12 a month!
