O2 joins forces with BT in preparation for its 4G rollout

BT has put its weight behind O2's 4G rollout as the two firms put pen to paper and sign a ten year deal.

O2 came out poorly from the 4G spectrum auction at the beginning of the year, gaining the least amount of the valuable frequencies so its new partnership with BT will come as welcome relief.

The deal will see BT build a new high capacity transmission network to ensure O2 has the capacity it needs to support the increased data demand - thought to be up to 400 per cent - on the 4G network.

'Mind-blowingly aggressive'

We've already heard from O2 that its 4G rollout will be 'mind-blowingly aggressive' in comparison with its 3G rollout, and the additional infrastructure support is now has from BT will help make that claim a reality.

O2 reckons it will be able to offer "unrivalled mobile phone and internet browsing experiences" - something we're pretty sure EE, Vodafone and Three probably won't be in agreement with.

While EE has had a decent head start in the 4G arena take-up hasn't exactly exploded, leaving the door open for the other networks to claim a decent chunk of the LTE market when they come online later this year.