Orange and T-Mobile promise 4G by the end of the year

Orange and T-Mobile promise to give your phone a speed boost with the launch of 4G before the end of this year. The two networks, united under the Everything Everywhere banner, promise more LTE 4G trials and massively extended HSPA+ coverage.

Everything Everywhere is the new name for T-Mobile and Orange merged into the UK's biggest phone network. The folks at Everything Everywhere claim HSPA+ 21 technology will speed up your phone by 50 per cent in the run-up to a proper 4G launch, as well as doubling the speed at which you can upload stuff like photos.

HSPA+ 21 offers up to 21Mbps, although that's a theoretical maximum and actual speeds vary depending on conditions. Before the end of the year even faster HSPA+ 42 will also be available to Orange and T-Mobile customers.

4G trials will continue through the year. Everything Everywhere is starting a 4G trial of LTE over the 1800MHz frequency in April, which builds on the 800MHz trial currently running in Cornwall.

LTE is the next generation of Internet connection when you're out and about. Technically LTE isn't exactly 4G, but it's significantly faster than 3G so the term 4G seems to have stuck.

4G noticably speeds up even everyday tasks like sending emails, as well as giving your phone's Web browser a serious kick in the pants. Even better, 4G coverage is wider than 3G because the signals beam across the country at a lower frequency, meaning they travel further -- so as well as speeding up your phone, 4G will ensure you get a signal where you would previously have struggled to find those precious bars.

4G may even replace cables as the Internet access method of choice in rural areas where broadband has yet to go. Click play on our video to find out how 4G has changed people's lives during the trial.

Personally, I'm excited to finally have a crack at those mouthwatering 4G phones launched in the US that so far haven't made it across the pond.

If regulators give Everything Everywhere's plan the green light, the network claims it will launch 4G before the end of this year. A proper 4G network has so far been held up by legal squabblings among the networks over which portions of the spectrum would be allocated to which company, but telecoms regulator Ofcom has recently rethought those plans to try and speed things up.

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