4G has arrived in the UK. In August 2012, communications company, Everything Everywhere’s new name change to ‘EE’ came with an announcement of the next generation mobile data transfer.

The launch, which was supported by a high-profile, widely-distributed marketing campaign starring Hollywood’s “most connected man”, Kevin Bacon, clearly heralded a major development in mobile data. But what does it mean for video?

 

Where is my 4G?

First of all, let’s get the technical stuff out of the way and talk about service. EE ran a 4G service on an 1800 MHz network from 2012, but the outcome of Ofcom’s 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands auctionin February 2013 meant that EE, along with other UK mobile operators, O2, Three and Vodafone all won a total of 250 MHz of spectrum.

EE (which also represents the T-Mobile and Orange brands) was first out of the gate with these new bands, covering all major British cities and providing superfast data dongles and 4G-enabled mobile phones. Other operators are playing catch-up. O2 is rolling out a 4G service during the summer of 2013, Vodafone is expected to do the same and Three won’t be able to utilise its purchased spectrum until September 2013. But by the end of 2013 4G will be the standard for new mobile data transfer and most UK operators are anticipating 98% coverage, including indoor, by the end of 2014.

 

A mobile revolution

Is this the advent of a mobile video revolution we’ve been expecting? Operators are promising speeds of up to 50 Mbit/s, which is enough for an entire family to all stream HD content at the same time. On the move, however, finding a 4G signal and sharing it with your immediate locale will most likely give you about a quarter of that speed, similar to the claims 3G made and delivered. Still, it’s enough to stream a high quality version of your favourite BBC iPlayer programme, an HD film on the go, or a good quality video conference from your new third space on the move.

The challenge facing operators will be whether or not they are able to keep pace with consumers’ increasing expectations and ever growing need for speed both in and out of the home. It won’t be surprising that the average mobile user equates and expects 4G to deliver an experience just like the stable, high quality broadband they take for granted at home.

 

Left to our own devices

The driving force behind consumer demand for 4G is, of course, down to our love of gadgets. Specifically, an abundance of 4G enabled smart phones, tablets and phablets filling the gap in between. There are many devices right now that are ripe for HD video consumption on the move. The current iPad with retina display has a higher resolution than a full 1080p HD TV and it’s hard to find a current 10 inch tablet that doesn’t support the HD format. Even 4 and 5 inch Android phablets are joining the party. The Samsung Galaxy S4 features full 1080p HD as do other recently released devices. A study undertaken last year showed that making voice calls now rates fifth on a smartphone user’s list of priorities, and in April the BBC reported that its iPlayer service was watched on tablets more than smartphones for the very first time. There’s no doubt 4G will drive mobile video consumption of all types further still.

 

Wear your video

So far, these developments have been moderately exciting. Taking our web conferencing and programme watching experience out on the road on our phones won’t be a surprise for most tablet or laptop owners savvy with video in the home. However, there may be something just around the corner that will turn our casual YouTube streaming and FaceTime use into a colossal appetite for video in the palm of our hands.

Wearable tech is coming. The first example worthy of mention is Google Glass; Google’s augmented head mounted display due for release early 2014. For now we will leave aside predictions of its success or whether it may become a niche product, and also the potential for legal problems or the worldwide breakdown of privacy, which may have led Eric Schmidt, Google’s Executive Chairman, to call for an individual to be able to delete personal information from the internet. Glass will connect to the internet, but not by itself. It will require a Bluetooth pairing to a device that facilitates all of the data transfer via 3G, 4G or an available Wifi network. The potential for video application is then up to the imagination, ability and creativity of app writers who are already hard at work with developer devices. Seamless video conferencing on any street, augmented YouTube teaching guides, enhanced film and television experiences, heads-up real life games, the list goes on, not to mention the ability to stream every minute of your life right into millions of people’s browsers, all powered by video and our pocketed 4G device.

If the rumours are right, Apple will also release a similar tethered technology in the form of the iWatch, and if they don’t then there are already Android and Sony wrist computers happy to fill the gap. Our 1960’s James Bond video watch is almost with us via 4G, having been 50 years in the making.

 

G Acceleration

And what after 4G? Recently Samsung made claims about a 5G mobile transmission data breakthrough, hundreds of times the speed of 4G. What is interesting here is not the experts that gathered to play down the claims, but that Samsung know where the future lies for them regarding mobile. Smart phone usage will have hit 1.4 billion worldwide by the end of 2013. Android is predicted to lead the pack with 57% of the market; promising news for Samsung who pocketed an astonishing 94.7% of all profits in the Android market in Q1 2013.

Our home experience is about to be taken onto the streets and if operators are willing to provide generous monthly data packages, 4G will show us just a small taste of what is about to transform our lives in the next few years.

James Laming, Senior Technologist
@jameslaming