O2 have announced that they will be trialling a 4G network across London over the next nine months.

4G, which has been available in the US for sometime, is the next step in the evolution of mobile networks and will eventually replace 3G. 4G provides data speeds up to five times faster than 3G with a maximum of 100Mbps , which is as good as the best fibre-optic broadband available in the UK.

The trial, which will take place at 25 sites across London, will be invite only and will run until June 2012. It will cover 40 square kilometres of London and includes all the key areas including Canary Wharf, Soho and Westminster.

Those lucky enough to get an invite will receive a Samsung B3730 hub to connect to the 4G network. In theory this should allow them to download a 500MB movie in under a minute.

The first 4G trial took place earlier this year in Cornwall and this is just the next step in the roll-out of super-fast mobile networks in the UK. 3G is very excited about the prospect of even faster mobile speeds , but the global roll-out of the technology is still some way off.

However, over the coming months we'll keep you updated on all the news regarding 4G in the UK, which is the next big milestone in the evolution of mobiles !