News Vodafone announces UK 4G plans, takes on EE and O2

Arriving 29th August in London and starting from £26 per month.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2013/08/07/vodafone-announces-4g-plans-takes-on-ee-o2/1

 

Heh. Vodafone already have a 4G LTE network up and running here in New Zealand. In fact they have the only one until later this year.

 

Do we know which 4G handsets are compatible now rather than a launch gimmick?

 

Think theres only 8 ish Handsets that have 4g in the uk.

Iphone 5 on EE only as far as im aware.
SG4
sony exp z
blackberry q5 / z10
2 more from samsung the note 2 and the mini i think
+ lumia 925

Pretty much a list of High end devices.

 

What's the point? Why do you need 4G speeds if you've got an 8GB data cap per month even on the most expensive contract? 4G will chew through that in no time at all, and if you're not reaching it, it's very unlikely you're doing anything that couldn't be done with 3G. Unlimited data is where it's at.

 

I've used my data cap in less than half a day in Central London, had to go to an EE store and request further data. Luckily I had a nice guy who gave me 5GB for free but there's still no sight of an unlimited plan as of yet... Kinda pointless in my opinion, better off sticking to your 3.5G unlimited packages...

 

Vodafone bought 1/3 of the 800MHz spectrum at the auction too, if I'm not mistaken? Their network should run on 800MHz and 2,600MHz frequencies.

 

Received a leaflet a few days back from Freeview: "4G is coming to your area .... Its frequency of 800Hz coincides with that of Freeview".. If you face TV picture quality issues contact us on ..."
Who in the right mind thought of coinciding two large scale used frquencies for different uses?

 

Theres no point in going with Vodafone though. My signals been getting worse and worse with them year on year. Can't wait to move.

 

The missus works for a mast equipment installation company and Vodafone and O2 agreed a deal not that long ago that if they both have equipment on the same mast site that they would remove one (to cut down on costs and to simplify upgrades). I think Vodafone got the east of the country and O2 the west (or vice versa). Now theorteically this shouldn't affect coverage but would seem to cause some issues if they both own different bands for 4G. That said if only a O2 mast or Vodafone mast are present on a site then there are no plans to share these.

 

While I was in the states last week, I saw ads for Unlimited Talk, Text and 4G Data for $40 a month.

It would be nice to see that kind of offer coming over here.

 

Such a damn ripoff. Just another way for mobile firms to bleed customers after they got told to reduce their rates within the EU.

 

HTC One ,8X, 8S, One SV , One XL

Experia SP , Exp Z Ultra

Huawei P1

SGS3LTE edition

lumia 820 + 920

blackberry Q10

 

Both O2 and Vodafone bought a significant part of the 800MHz spectrum. Vodafone says on its site that it purchased 1/3 of all of the 800MHz spectrum that was on sale in the Ofcom auction.

 

As much as people in the know can complain and criticise the advantages and uses of 4G the simple fact is that many people have and are signing up to EE and in future others will be upgrading their future contracts with existing networks on their 4G contracts. Consumers are stupid and are desperate to spend the money on their credit cards. There is no logic when it comes to 'keeping up with the Jones'.

 

I am currently on 3 with their One Plan which is pretty great. I might just happen to live in an area with a good signal but my average connection speed at home is around 10-15 Mbit/s. It is faster and more reliable than my ADSL connection so I tether all of the time. My GF has an HTC one on the same plan and that can get in excess of 20 Mbit/s.

Last month I used a paltry 55GB (down from my 70GB average). 3's 4G plan is to just roll it out and let any compatible phones use it with no extra charge. Of course they will probably be later to the market but with the speeds I get at home already I am not really bothered by that. For my phone (S3) I pay £31/month and for my GF's phone she pays £36/month which for what we get seems pretty good.

 

4g will take ages to really take off for the mass consumers only then will prices drop. Most people I know who are not tech inclined don't even know what 4g is let alone have a want for it.

Even those that do want it won't pay for extortionate prices that they are asking for it. Its basically a few major cities. When it gets to unlimited and works everywhere or close enough its uptake might prove.

Providers got burned with 3g in this country dou't we will see a huge 4g push like there was for 3G.

 

A couple of chaps I know have had 4G and their review of the battery life of their handsets is shocking. Apparently the phone tries constantly to access the 4G network in much the same way as the GSM/HSPA (?) search used to hammer the battery life of 3G phones. Understandable but frustrating nonetheless.

In addition, if you move through coverage areas halfway through a call, the call gets dropped as the phone reconnects to the faster network. Hence one of the guys has returned to 3G.

 

They all want to get out ahead of 3 who will be offering unlimited data for much cheaper, not sure why they haven't done it already.

 

Yup, that's the way to do it.

I'm paying £23/m for the same contract without tethering, as I tend to stream to my phone anyway, and can connect an HDMI for larger screen viewing. Would be nice to have tethering for some big steam downloads, but it's not the end of the world.