So what will this mean in real world useability? I mean it's rare that I get full data signal as it is. Will it increase the base speed or just improve the top speed for those lucky enough to be stood in the right place with with correct planetary alignment?

On 3g/high speed data. I get 3mbs plus which is nearly half the speed i get through a fixed line. If i can get near to 10mb ,they could introduce over the air services to replaced fixed lines if they get the ping times down.

Seemed pretty fast here - didn't test speeds but did feel more like wifi/ broadband responses. At £6/mb or whatever the stupid data roaming charge is in the USA on O2 is, I didnt feel inclined to give it a stress test

Ping times (latency) are very low, due to the completely revised L2/L3.

Data rates will entirely depend on how the network is designed. LTE can be used to provide high data rates over small distances, or lower rates over larger distances. The multiple modulation and coding schemes provide flexibility.

Real world speeds of 2-3 times current speeds should be achievable ... even more, depending on spectrum allocations