Everything Everywhere who own T mobile and Orange is to start rolling out 4G services on part of the spectrum that it currently owns which is at 1800 MHz in the UK from September 11. This is the direct result of a ruling by Ofcome that took place on on the 21st of August.
However this launch of the 4g service is likely to be a little premature and is likely to fall on deaf ears, because there are no mobile devices that can receive the 4g signal that are available for sale in the UK at the moment. It’s important to note that US 4g devices and the new iPad will be useless to use here, which is due to the US operating on different 4g frequencies such as 700MHz and 2100MHz. However Everything Everywhere will be able to get around this hurdle temporarily, by making 4g dongles that will enable many existing mobile devices able to receive the super fast 4g signal. Also it is likely that the mobile device manufacturers will begin rolling out UK 4g completable mobile phones and devices soon at this 4g frequency and the other 4g frequencies, which are due to be launched later on in the year by the other mobile phone operators.
The other networks such as 02 and Vodaphone are not happy with the decision. They think that Everything Everywhere is getting an unfair advantage in the marketplace. An O2 spokesperson told TechRadar:
“We are hugely disappointed with today’s announcement, which will mean the majority of consumers will be excluded from the first wave of digital services,” “This decision undermines the competitive environment for 4G in the UK.”
Everything Everywhere have also confirmed that they intend to introduce a new brand identity soon. This does not look like they intend to replace their existing service brands such as T mobile and Oranges with one new brand, In fact they have made a statement saying that:
”Everything Everywhere confirms that we are planning to launch a new brand in the UK later this year. This new brand will sit alongside our existing brands Orange and T-Mobile. We will reveal more information on our exciting plans in due course.”
It would make economic sense to merge two services into one offering 4g. If they did that it would make them the biggest mobile provider under one brand name in the UK with over 27 million customers.
