Guest Nicholas Fearn Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 O2 and Vodafone have both finally launched their 4G services in the United Kingdom, meaning competition is going to start to brew for EE pretty soon! Whilst it's great to see that both popular networks have finally launched the technology that allows a smartphone user to access mobile data at super-fast speeds, it's a bit disappointing to see that both companies are being rather conservative about their launches! When I say conservative, I'm not waffling on about politics or anything related to David Cameron or our current British government, I'm talking about the fact that O2's service will only be available in London, Leeds and Bradford at first, with Vodafone only launching the technology in London for now. Both networks have said however that they plan to get their services out to other major towns and cities within the next few months, but we may not see the whole country using 4G for a good few years yet. I can honestly say that I'm very happy to see that both companies have finally launched their 4G services, although I think they could face a lot of trouble in terms of getting the consumer interested if they don't actually manage to offer up competitive tariffs, mainly because Three UK has already confirmed that their 4G services (which are set to launch this December) won't actually include the need to change contracts - plus they won't be upping the price either. As for which network offers up the cheapest tariff, EE, Vodafone and O2 all offer some reasonable options (as long as you're happy with a data cap), although I personally find Vodafone's £5 Red option most interesting as it's good value and includes free access to either Spotify Premium or Sky Sports Mobile TV. Click here to view the item Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest everett_psycho Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 I don't see what the rush is about, dchspa has proved to be fast enough for my needs, while 4g is faster I'm not going to pay a fortune for it. I think biding your time to see what three offer is a good move, if Google come out with a cheap 4g nexus 5 to replace the 4 i may be swayed in to upgrading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest T39andcounting Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 feel the same way. Three speeds are more than enough on my Galaxy Nexus. If the new Nexus meets my needs and happens to be 4G, then great, but I'll wait until Three rolls it out at a reasonable price, rather than pay over the odds on the other networks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest maniac_mouse Posted September 13, 2013 Report Share Posted September 13, 2013 Out here in the sticks we only have gprs and if your lucky, edge, so it would be nice if they actually gave us 100% 3g coverge first. 3G/3g+ is plenty fast enough for anything I would want to do on a cellphone anyway. I read somewhere that 4g had better signal propagation then 3g, so there is hope for us bumpkins, although i would be suprised if I saw a 4g signal round these parts within the next 4 years or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BrownMicrowave Posted September 13, 2013 Report Share Posted September 13, 2013 (edited) The selling points to a customer like me hates losing 3G signal is , signal everywhere even in ghetto areas. and prices , EE's pricing for 4G is abysmal , you have to remortgage your house to use 4G. Never the less i for one dont have any interest in 4g no one has a data plan to watch movies on the go . All it means you can update facebook/twitter 2 seconds faster. Hutchinson 3G's 3.9G HSPDA+ is more than enough its basically 4g. Edited September 13, 2013 by BrownMicrowave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Voxpop2011 Posted September 15, 2013 Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 Does 4G mean having to get another phone? These innovations are invariably watered down and after a while, nobody really notices the small differences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest everett_psycho Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 Does 4G mean having to get another phone? These innovations are invariably watered down and after a while, nobody really notices the small differences. you'll need a 4g phone, chances are your current one won't be as without 4g being available no networks were really selling the devices until recently. I like the idea but unless the nexus 5 packs three compatible 4g and matches the nexus 4 price I don't think I'll be hopping on the 4g bandwagon any time soon, really not passing £500 for a new phone when the nexus 4 is still good enough for my needs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest masterpfa Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 I used to think I would give 4G a miss, I agree when I saw EE launch and their ridiculous pricesI thought 4G might be something I would allow to pass me by, well that was until I tried a 4G enabled phone at home. Streaming with no problems, surfing was a breeze. Contacting my provider O2 I found that my data allowance would be upped from my current 2Gb to 8Gb for just an bolt on price of £5 a month. I swore blind that 3G and HSPA+ was all I needed before, but now for me it makes no sense not to upgrade. O2 I do know existing customers can get this bolt on, but I'm not too sure if something similar is available for Vodafone customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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