Medway misses out on 4G
Medway is not among the places in line for the next
round of super-fast mobile coverage.
Despite being the most populated
area in Kent, with 265,000 people, the Towns will not be in the
latest tranche of 27 places to get 4G.
Instead, the service is being
introduced this summer to Ashford, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge
and Tunbridge Wells.
The network is at least five to
seven times faster than the existing fastest network, 3G, so it
allows users to make high-definition video calls or watch
high-quality live TV.
But it currently only works on
4G-enabled phones for those who pay a premium tariff with the
Everything Everywhere (EE) network.
It also requires more phone masts,
which are lacking in Medway and have been unpopular with some
residents in the past.
EE spokesman Emily Clarke said the
areas chosen were where the infrastructure already existed.
“It’s down to a variety of
factors,” she said. “When the roll-out started before Christmas the
focus was on major towns and cities. As we roll out wider it’s
about what infrastructure is there already to make things as fast
as possible.”
Medway Labour leader Cllr Vince
Maple (pictured) has complained to EE about Medway not being
selected.
He said: “Medway is a major conurbation
in the South East [with] both a large commuter population and an
increasing student population.
“Could you clarify the process that
was taken in making this decision and whether the local council or
MPs made any representations to encourage Medway to be in your
early roll-out?”
Yet Steve Howard, 42, who runs his
broadband firm, Medwave, from the Medway Innovation Centre, said
the focus should be on traditional internet.
“I’m not sure in practice it’s
going to make a whole lot of difference if I can watch EastEnders
on the bus,” he said.
“I think the far bigger story is
the way BT are rolling out fibre-optic broadband in Medway.”
He said there were already
hot-spots in Medway with 4G, but they will be kept secret until
there is better coverage.
And Tory councillor Chris Irvine
tweeted: “What’s point of 4G when broadband and mobile coverage in
large part of Medway, ie Peninsula still sadly lacking?
#priorities.”
The network is intended to cover
98% of the country by the end of 2014.
14/02/13
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