ISP announces LTE tests for Britain

Major internet service provider (ISP) O2 has announced it is likely to start testing long-term evolution (LTE) broadband technology in the UK before the summer of next year.

LTE technology is considered by many to be the future of broadband connectivity and could deliver connection speeds ten times faster than what is currently available in the UK, meaning shorter download periods and potentially more effective use of VoIP solutions.

Trials of LTE systems have not yet been carried out in the UK by any operator, although several of O2's rivals have said they plan to start them at some point in the future.

Mobile connection speeds as high as 340 megabits per second (Mbps) are theoretically possible using LTE technology, but a range of factors such as a user's distance from a signal transmitter will impact on actual speeds received.

Virgin Media currently offers a 50Mbps broadband service using fibre optic networks and BT recently announced it is spending £1.5 billion on upgrades of its own.