UK 'lags behind Europe' on LTE

Britain's LTE rollout is lagging behind other countries in Europe despite improvements to the country's broadband infrastructure, according to one expert.

In an article for Tech Eye, Matthew Finnegan said Ofcom's slow auctioning process means LTE services will not be delivered until 2014.

LTE, or long term evolution, means super-fast mobile broadband connectivity delivered via 3G technologies.

On the positive side, however, BT has started its roll-out of high-speed fibre broadband which could deliver speed of 100 Mbps, Mr Finnegan remarked.

Similarly, Virgin is continuing to implement its super-fast network, while other providers such as Sky and Talk Talk are expected to up their level of coverage, he added.

Finally, the writer cited the fact that YouView - on-demand TV services - should become more widespread, pushing up demand for broadband.

Earlier this month, technology companies Arqiva and Alcatel-Lucent announced they are to implement trial LTE services for the first time in the UK, in west Wales.