EE have pushed 4G into nine more UK towns

EE which is the first UK provider to roll out 4G has expanded it's super fast mobile network to nine more UK towns. The service is now available in 27 towns and cities covering 45% of the UK population. As well as adding the new locations, the operator has also improved network density in existing areas, which should improve the service.

the nine new locations are.

• Amersham
• Chelmsford
• Hemel Hempstead
• Southend-on-Sea
• Stockport
• Sunderland 
• Sutton Coldfield
• Wolverhampton

EE expects to have 98 percent of the U.K. population covered by the end of 2014. So far, the company is on track, but getting the low-invested areas of rural countryside swathed with LTE coverage will be expensive.

 

EE CEO Olaf Swantee said: “As the first operator to bring 4G to the UK it is important that we make it accessible to as much of the population as possible, as quickly as possible. To be ahead of schedule and covering approximately 45 per cent of the population within just 90 days of the launch is a great achievement for our network team.”  Source ; http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2013/01/31/ee-rolls-out-4g-ahead-of-schedule-to-9-more-uk-towns-covering-45-of-the-population/

 Ofcom has opened up the spectrum bidding process to other operators just over a week ago, but the process will take weeks and then the spectrum will be divided up between the bidders which may take a couple of months. These rival networks hope to start rolling out 4G by mid August or September at the latest.

4G Auction in the UK

It has finally started, the auction to decide how the UK's 4th generation (4G) spectrum is going to be shared out between operators.

In total 7 operators are involved in what is being called "a significant milestone" by the communications regulator Ofcom. It's the largest mobile spectrum auction to take place in the UK with the space on offer equivalent to three quarters of the current mobile spectrum.

The following organisations are bidding in the auction:

• Everything Everywhere Limited
• HKT (UK) Company Limited (a subsidiary of PCCW Limited)
• Hutchison 3G UK Limited
• MLL Telecom Ltd
• Niche Spectrum Ventures Limited (a subsidiary of BT Group plc)
• Telefónica UK Limited
• Vodafone Limited

The bidding process will take place online with software that has been developed specifically for the auction and uses a secure connection. The bidding process will continue over several rounds and will go on for a number of weeks. There won't be any bidding updates until the conclusion of the auction to reduce any potential risk of strategic bidding which could distort the outcome of the auction.

On completion of the auction licences will be given enabling the operators to start rolling out new networks. A range of providers are looking to roll-out 4G services form spring/summer 2013.

The auction will allow more networks to offer 4G mobile data, with the likes of O2, Vodafone and 3 wanting to challenge EE which was allowed to launch its 4G service early. However it's not just 4G mobile connectivity on the cards, the likes of BT are looking to acquire some of the spectrum to improve its broadband coverage, especially in rural areas.

Secure your mobile phone conversations

This year phone hacking sparked the Leveson inquiry, which concluded that the press "wreaked havoc in the lives of innocent people." As a result of this more and more people and businesses are aware of ways that private or personal information can be obtained and how easy it is to do this today. Although heavier legislation will be put in place to stop future hacks within the media, people are now aware of how hacking can be utilised in other areas such as the theft of intellectual property, or getting premature disclosure of mergers and acquisitions. Listening into the private conversations of celebrities, politicians or business leaders can be very valuable to the hacker and damaging to the victim. Those who are potentially at risk shouldn't rely on regulation to stop future hackers. 

Instead, phone encrypting solutions are being used to ensure that you are not at risk. The first generation of solutions came from a commercial smartphone that used military grade encryption to ensure communication between two people with the same handset are secure. These early solutions would cost in the region of £2000 each and the choice of handset was severely restricted. 

Anvil Mobile have released a solution that is far cheaper and can run on any smartphone that uses Android 2.3 or later and on IOS4, 5 or 6. A Secure Mobile application is downloaded to your phone and activation details are provided once the contract is confirmed.  A new secure phone number which works concurrently with the existing mobile number is then used to secure in-coming calls from anywhere and is used to make calls to any number in the world with local protection against interception  . The application also provides easy-to-use, seamless integration with existing phone books/contact lists for convenient access. With this service it is also possible to hold and transfer to another number or use three-way conferencing. Both numbers work when called but any calls made to and from the secure number are protected. 

There are two versions of the application available, a standard and an advanced service. The Advanced version can safely make calls or receive incoming calls from land lines or mobiles anywhere in the world with full encrypted voice protection for both parties over the local leg of the call. Meaning that if your in a high risk situation and someone wants to hack your calls, both parties are protected on your leg of the conversation. The Standard version encrypts calls between two Secure Mobile enabled handsets, providing complete end-to-end protection.  

Secure Mobile uses advanced AES 256-bit encryption and the calls are made and received through a private secure network, which means that no calls are processed in a standard public operator network. Most alternative solutions use the public networks and rely on the same software being on the handsets that make and receive calls.

The Standard Service costs only £30 per month or £45 for the Advanced Service. Calls between Secure Mobile numbers on the same account are free and you can still use your existing mobile number and any contract minutes for non-secure calls. And because Secure Numbers on the Advanced Service are local geographic numbers, calling the secure number costs the caller only a land line call, even from overseas. Secure Mobile applications can be used anywhere in the world and local numbers are available in most countries making this a truly global solution.

“Whether it is to compromise intellectual property, overhear details of mergers and acquisitions or listen into the private conversations of celebrities, politicians or business leaders, it is simple and inexpensive to set up a rogue base station to intercept and record calls. And this is just one method that hackers use to intercept mobile phone calls,” said Ian Philip, CEO at Anvil Mobile.  “The only sure way to avoid the risk of being listened to is by encrypting the calls; but until now that has meant both parties needed to have special software on matching secure mobile phones. Secure Mobile overcomes this limitation with any call to and from any number being locally secure".

Anvil Mobile has Moved Office

Anvil Mobile has moved office and is now located at Wenden Court, Station Road, Wendens Ambo, Saffron Waldne Essex, CB11 4LB Our new office is a stones throw away from Audley End train station, which gives us access to London Liverpool street in under an hour.

Moving office can be a stressful task. Getting your office functioning as quickly as possible is critical. When it come to having an office that runs efficiently internet connection is paramount. But for Anvil Mobile this wasn't an issue. Not because we had a fixed line already installed, but because we can use an Instant Office solution and be fully functional in less than 5 minutes.

The Anvil Instant Office is a 3G router with a Anvil Data USIM card installed, wireless LAN and 3 Ethernet ports to attach VoIP phones or PC's. Anvil Mobile supply Polycom VoIP desk phones and pre-configure these with a landline number with the area code that you choose. An external switch can also be added to provide more ports to connect more devices where required. WLAN devices such as laptops, tablets and smart phones can connect wirelessly to the router for the internet access. If you need a higher capacity, bonded solutions can be provided where up to 6 USIMs can be combined into a single channel giving you a single higher capacity connection.

If you're self employed show off that your local.

If you're a self employed  and offer a service to a local community then the most important thing is your local network and you should be promoting that fact that you are a part of the community. The good news it that you can do this with out even making contact with your market. You could have the name of your local area in your company name, but if you don't want to do that or have already got a good name you should ensure you have a local contact number. As this is something that everyone will see especially if they want to use your service.

One of the problems that a lot of self employed people have is that they rely on there mobile phones as without them they're unable to take calls on the move. Displaying a local area number and answering it on a mobile devise would be the ideal situation. One of the easiest ways of doing this is to get a virtual number and then direct the calls toward the device you wish to answer it on. This gives you the benefit of a local number, which puts across a good image and give you the local feel you want. While answering it on a mobile device gives you the flexibility and freedom to get on with the jobs you have. 

Who's listening to your mobile calls

Hacker at work recording your calls

Mobile communications have changed the world and most people find it hard to get through their day without using their mobile phone. Phone calls have always been a personal thing and It’s not uncommon to leave a room of people when you’re phone rings. After all you don’t always want other people to hear your conversation as it might be private. But what if people didn’t need to be in the same room as you to listen to or even record your calls, look through your contacts, read your text messages or even change settings, for example, switch on the microphone. 

Unfortunately this is exactly what hackers are able to do, with just a small amount of equipment and a bit of time. They can set up a rogue cell and as your phone will automatically roam to the strongest signal, if they are close by your phone connects to them and you are at their mercy. In many cases the information they steal can be very valuable or sensitive and can have a major effect on businesses and individuals. So who does this? People who want a story to sell to the media, unethical competitors, anyone who can gain a financial advantage or advance their cause, someone with a grudge and last but not least, criminals.


What can be done to stop your mobile calls from being intercepted or hacked? There are many different options that are available to ensure that your calls are secure. Applications that can be downloaded and run on the handset are proving to be a popular solution. Most of these require the same application to be running on the both the caller and receiver’s handsets and security only works within a closed user group. Ideally, the best solution would be one where an application provides security whoever you call whether land line or mobile and also when you receive a call from anyone, anywhere.



Anyone who doubts the ease with which mobile phones can be attacked can search YouTube for a demonstration or Google for all the technical details. Key search words are “IMSI catcher” “Mobile phone spying” “Cell phone hacking”

4G in the UK

So it's happened 4G has gone live in the UK and will be available via EE in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton with 2,000 square miles of 4G network promised to be added every month.

We'll be able to offer a range of data only packages to fulfill everyone's needs and we'll be announcing our prices in the coming week.