UK Broadband, wholly-owned by Hong Kong’s PCCW, switches on today its TD-LTE network in London. In doing so, the operator becomes the first in the UK to launch LTE services. It also claims a world first. No other operator has launched a commercial TD-LTE network in the 3.5GHz band.
 
The network is, however, a small one. Comprising 12 base stations from Huawei, UK Broadband reach is limited to one London borough (Southwark). Services are also currently restricted to fixed broadband replacement, where Home Hub units, also supplied by Huawei, provide Wi-Fi access and LTE backhaul.
 
“We operate a wholesale business model, and we already have one home broadband service provider signed up as a customer,” says Nicholas James, UK Broadband’s CEO.    
 
James expects dongle-sized ‘Mi-Fi’ devices to be available from September 1st. Using LTE for backhaul, and connecting customers’ existing devices with Wi-Fi, the UK Broadband chief expects Mi-Fi devices to stoke network demand. The company then intends to roll out more base stations across London and other UK cities.
 
“We are talking to one mobile network operator in the UK which is interested in dropping high capacity in targeted areas,” adds James.
 
The Mi-Fi suppliers are not yet named, but the devices will be multi-mode, supporting TD-LTE, FD-LTE and 3G. By mid-2013, James anticipates that 3.5GHz LTE-enabled smartphones will become available.
 
UK Broadband has 124MHz of 3.5GHz spectrum, enabling the deployment of 6x20MHz wide channels capable of delivering LTE Advanced speeds. Initial downlink speeds over the UK Broadband network, estimates James, will average out at 40Mbps.
 
When 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum is auctioned in the UK, expected next year, James does not expect that the UK Broadband business model will be squeezed. “Ofcom [the UK telecoms regulator] believes MNO capacity will all be used by 2016, so we will still have a capacity advantage,” he says.