The news comes shortly after it was revealed that offering will support EE's soon to be rolled out LTE network, which will operate on 1800MHz spectrum.

EE is Everything Everywhere's .

An O2 spokesman told Computerworld UK: "Yes, we are in discussions to bring the timeline forward."

to use its existing 1800MHz spectrum to launch 4G services in the UK this year, several months ahead of its rivals who are currently waiting to buy 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum in an auction that is due to begin by December.

The three other mobile operators in the UK are currently locked in legal battles over the guidelines of the spectrum auction and have been further angered by EE's head-start.