Perhaps Sony knew something we didn’t when it launched its e-book Readers in August, with rumours suggesting that the e-book industry’s 500-pound gorilla, Amazon, will launch the Kindle in the UK far sooner than initially thought.

Amazon is all set to launch the Kindle in the UK as soon as next week, if new reports are to be believed.The Kindle ebook reader has been a blinding success in the US, but various issues securing a wireless service in the UK have so far prevented it from being released over here.

However, The Bookseller has heard from numerous sources that Qualcomm, which provides the whispernet wireless service for the Kindle in the States, is working on a solution for the UK as well.

The wireless service is one of the Kindle’s strengths over the competition, as it allows users to download e-books remotely to the device.

Publishers have reportedly signed non-disclosure agreements, but one source confirmed: “The key things they needed to tie up have been tied up. The rumours I’ve heard are all saying next week.”

The Guardian elaborates further, putting the cause of the delay down to Amazon’s Whispernet, a service that is currently free in the US, which allows e-books to be easily downloaded over the mobile phone network. For the feature to work in the UK, the service would need to be modified to work on the GSM/GPRS mobile network standard used in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, rather than CDMA standard widely used in the US.

The Kindle has been a long time coming to British shores, as the Kindle made its US debut nearly two years ago, in November 2007. Whether Amazon launches the Kindle 2 or the larger, more expensive Kindle DX, remains to be seen.