Smartphones set for 4G coverage

22/02/12

By Patrick Surlis

Orange and T-Mobile have promised to spend more than £1.5 billion over the next three years to upgrade their network coverage.

Everything Everywhere, the company which formed in 2010 after the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, has pledged to introduce superfast 4G technology to its customer base of 27 million phone users. The company successfully tested the technology in St Newlyn East, Cornwall and will bid for coverage in auctions to be held later this year.

The 4G technology will allow smartphone users to download music and movies to their devices at the same speeds as home computers. Everything Everywhere has experienced substantial growth since its formation in 2010 and has benefited from the increased consumer demand for smartphones such as the Apple iPhone and RIM Blackberry.

Everything Everywhere said its customer base increased by 72,000 in the final quarter of 2011 while it reported a two per cent increase in underlying earnings to £1.4 billion.

Olaf Swantee, chief executive of Everything Everywhere, said the figures showed that the business was capitalising on opportunities provided by smartphones.