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Compare all UK networks with Ofcom's mobile coverage checker
Between price, data allowances and customer perks, there are plenty of things to consider when choosing a new mobile plan. But all of that research is moot if the carrier you end up choosing has poor coverage in your area. The four major providers -- EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone -- offer coverage maps to help inform your decision, but ever the people's champion, Ofcom's gone one better. Today, the telecoms regulator launched the "Mobile Coverage Checker," an online tool that pools data from all four carriers and some of its own intel to provide a comprehensive overview of signal strength across the UK. Simply whack in a postcode, and the tool will show you what level of 2G, 3G and 4G coverage you can expect, both indoors and outdoors, on any of the major networks. The map can apply to smaller MVNOs, too, provided you know what provider they're allied to. Ofcom is hoping users will also provide feedback on their local coverage to help improve the new tool, with an updated version slated for release this autumn.
EE recalls Power Bar chargers over fire risks
EE's free Power Bar portable chargers have been incredibly popular with customers, but recently a medical student was left with nasty burns after one exploded while charging. And it can't be coincidence that EE has just issued a recall request for all Power Bars sporting the model number E1-06. EE says it's "identified a very small number of incidents where Power Bars have overheated," isolated to this specific batch number, which Mobile News believes accounts for half a million units -- EE's subsequently told us less than half that number are actually in customers' hands, with the rest accounted for in its stores. The carrier warns these Power Bars "could pose a fire safety risk," advises that customers stop using them immediately, and asks they turn them in at their nearest EE store. Returned units will be replaced once EE has figured out what's going on with the bad batch. The network operator believes Power Bars with different model numbers are perfectly safe, but it's still putting a temporary stop to the swap-in-shop program while it recalls and restocks.
Don't like your mobile carrier? Ofcom wants to help you switch
When your contract is up and you're toying with switching to another carrier, the hassle of porting over your number might stop you from actually following through. UK communications regulator Ofcom realises that, so today it's outlining plans to improve mobile switching by putting the onus back on the carrier. As part of its consultation, the watchdog is taking feedback on whether it should force operators to scrap PAC codes and remove the need for consumers to initiate the switch, exactly like it's now doing with broadband contracts.
EE's Rook is a £49 4G smartphone for pay-as-you-go punters
It seems like we can't get through a single month these days without one UK carrier or another launching an own-brand device. And, since the last device bearing a network provider's name came from Vodafone, it's only fitting that its own-brand nemesis EE gets to make the next announcement. So, without further ado, let's take a gander at the EE Rook, the carrier's newest home-grown handset aimed specifically at pay-as-you-go (PAYG) punters. Launched today for £49 for new customers and £39 for existing ones, EE calls it "the UK's lowest priced 4G smartphone." Technically, that epithet's correct, though it's only a lone pound cheaper than Vodafone's Smart 4 Turbo on PAYG. As EE's Harrier Mini is available for free on the provider's lowest-price contracts, it makes sense that the Rook be a PAYG-only affair, but what exactly do you get for that kind of money?
EE fined £1 million for not properly dealing with complaints
As part of its job as the communications industry regulator, Ofcom routinely checks to see if UK mobile carriers are doing a good job of looking after their customers. This includes how they log complaints and what they do once they've received them. After almost three years of investigation, the watchdog announced today that Britain's (current) largest operator, EE, hasn't properly handled customer complaints and has issued it with a £1 million fine.
EE's free Power Bar chargers are back in stock
Mobile operators aren't often recognised for their benevolence, but EE caught everyone's attention when it started handing out free portable mobile chargers to customers. In fact, it received over a million requests in just four days, forcing it to "power pause" signups and tell people to try again in a couple of months. If you were one of the unlucky ones, the good news is that EE's self-imposed embargo is now up, meaning you can again claim a free 2,600mAh Power Bar via a 35p text message. As long as you're an EE, Orange or T-Mobile customer, all you have to do is send "POWER" to 365 and wait for your unique code. Once you have that, it's a simple case of popping in to your local EE store to pick it up. Those very same stores will also swap a dead Power Bar out for a fully charged one whenever you want.
Switching your broadband supplier just got really easy
When Ofcom announced that consumers can ditch their contract if broadband speeds aren't as advertised, it also said it would also make changing providers even easier. This new "one touch" process comes into effect today, finally putting the responsibility of switching onto the company you wish to join. Under the new system, canceling your contract is a thing of the past (if you haven't agreed to a minimum term) and as long as your new provider requires a BT phone line, like EE, Sky and TalkTalk do, then they will handle the rest.
EE adds the 8-inch Harrier Tab to its own-brand range
EE wasn't kidding around when it said its new "connected strategy" would yield a whole host of additional own-brand devices this year. Merely a week after launching the 4GEE action cam, the carrier is back with another new product bearing its logo: the Harrier Tab. Just as the recently released Harrier and Harrier Mini smartphones were designed to replace the older Kestrel, EE's latest tablet is the successor to last year's Eagle. On the specs front, the Harrier Tab heralds several improvements, including an 8-inch, 1080p display, octa-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 CPU, 2GB of RAM and 8- and 2-megapixel cameras. You're also looking at Android 5.1 Lollipop, 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD), a 4,650mAh battery, and of course, Cat 4 LTE for taking full advantage of EE's 4G network.
Anywhere SIM uses different networks to dodge UK not-spots
One company is promising to end Britain's so-called "not-spot" problem with a special SIM card that automatically switches between carriers. The "Anywhere SIM" will alternate between Vodafone, O2 and EE's mobile networks for the best signal, and it'll also offer a single flat rate for roaming across Europe. The UK's major networks are opposed to such a system, but the startup seems to have side-stepped the problem by working with a company based outside the UK. According to the BBC, this firm already has roaming agreements with British carriers -- so it'll be like using a foreign SIM in the UK.
EE's own-brand action cam livestreams over 4G
With own-brand smartphones, tablets, MiFis and portable chargers, you would think EE's starting to run out of relevant products to stamp its logo on. After showing a recent interest in remote livestreaming by funding the Skeegle app, however, the carrier has today announced it's branching out into cameras. The 4GEE Action Cam, as it's inventively named, is a GoPro-style camera with the ability to broadcast directly over LTE without a smartphone conduit. The Action Cam can record 1080p video at 30fps, 720p clips at 30 or 60fps, and takes stills at up to 13MP (with an 8fps burst capture mode). Livestreaming over 4G is limited to 720p/30fps, though actual quality will depend on connection strength, and no points for guessing that Skeegle is where you'll find Action Cam broadcasts (settings and features are controlled through a separate companion app). The camera sports 2.5GB of internal storage, with a microSD slot to increase space by up to 64GB, and a 2,260mAh battery that's said to be good for three hours of streaming.
Skeegle is like Meerkat or Periscope, but for private groups
Broadcasting live video from your smartphone has quickly become all the rage. The most popular enablers of this craze are Meerkat and Periscope, both of which aim to create a global community of streamers and voyeurs that find each other's feeds through open social networks. New player Skeegle, however, wants to do things a little differently, by making mobile live-streaming a more private affair. The premise is simple: you choose exactly who you want to broadcast to. Once you've downloaded the app, logged in with a Facebook account and associated your phone number with it (WhatsApp-style), you can start building groups from your phone's contact list (think "friends," "family," etcetera). When you stumble upon something worth streaming, you simply select the groups you'd like to be notified of your activity, start broadcasting, and that's it.
EE Harrier and Harrier Mini review
EE's Kestrel was its first own-brand 4G smartphone, meant for those wanting breakneck mobile data speeds without breaking the bank. One year on, the Kestrel is coming to the end of its life, and when remaining stock is depleted, it'll disappear from the network's handset roster. The market for affordable 4G smartphones isn't vanishing anytime soon, however, which is why EE's readied a replacement for the Kestrel prior to its retirement. Actually, make that two: the new EE Harrier and Harrier Mini.
EE's 10 million 4G customers are great news for BT
EE was the first mobile network to offer 4G in the UK, and now, more than two and a half years later, it's still easily the most popular. The company has accumulated 10 million 4G customers, beating the numbers last reported by Three, O2 and Vodafone. It's a huge lead and one that will please BT, which is in the midst of buying EE's business. BT wants to strengthen its quad play offering and EE, provided the deal goes through, will give it a substantial network and subscriber base to work with. The company already offers mobile contracts -- using EE's network, unsurprisingly -- and Sky has confirmed it'll launch an O2-powered network in 2016. Three UK's owner, meanwhile, is acquiring O2 in order to leapfrog EE and become the UK's biggest carrier. While they sort out the details, BT has some time to fortify its position -- after all, EE's base of 4G subscribers will only continue to grow, benefitting the provider when its £12.5 billion buyout is finally approved.
EE's free portable chargers prove so popular there aren't any left
Mobile operators very rarely offer something for free, so when they do, you can expect that people will be quick to take advantage. That's exactly what's happened in the case of EE, which has seen over a million of its subscribers sign up for one of its free branded "Power Bars" in just four days. The rush for the 2,600mAh blue and yellow charger helped drive a 300 percent increase in visitors to stores over the weekend, inevitably resulting in a complete wipeout of stock.
EE's WiFi calling service now works on iPhones after iOS update
Remember the other day when we said EE's seamless WiFi calling feature was launching on April 10th? Well, there's been a slight change of plan, as the service is available right now on compatible iPhones (the 5s, 5c, 6 and 6 Plus). WiFi calling was originally supposed to launch alongside the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge in a couple of days, and we had no concrete details of when Apple devices might be joining the fray. That's changed today with the release of iOS 8.3, however, which adds support for EE's WiFi calling feature, among other things.
EE to launch its seamless WiFi calling feature on April 10th
EE's been talking about adding WiFi calling to its list of customer conveniences since last summer, and though slightly delayed, the feature is now ready for prime time. Well, almost, as WiFi calling will officially launch on April 10th, coinciding with the release of Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. These flagships, alongside Microsoft's Lumia 640, will be the first phones capable of using the feature, though it'll become available to a slew of compatible handsets "in the coming weeks." You may be wondering why so few devices are supported at launch, and the answer lies in how EE has implemented WiFi calling on its network. Where O2 and Three have created smartphone apps that let their customers make calls over WiFi, EE's solution is completely seamless. No intermediary app is needed, meaning you'll be able to make and receive calls and texts over WiFi as you would normally, using your phone's regular dialer and messaging app. Provided you're a pay-monthly customer, that is, since the feature's not available to pay-as-you-goers.
EE giving all customers portable chargers they can refuel in stores
Carriers are forever looking at new ways to incentivise customers -- whether it be with a subscription to this, or discounts on that, and so on -- but we can't recall any perk that's quite as practical as the one EE's introducing shortly. (Unless you're running an ancient Nokia, that is.) In the "coming weeks," EE's launching a scheme whereby any customer can walk into a store and pick up a free portable smartphone charger. The EE-branded "Power Bar" hosts a 2,600mAh battery, which'll be roughly enough for one full charge of your phone. What's more, if you find yourself carrying around a dead one, you can walk into any EE shop and switch it out for a fully charged replacement at no cost (you can refuel it yourself at home, of course). Best of all, there's a satisfying amount of small print attached to this offer.
BT gets back into mobile with a trio of SIM-only 4G plans
It's already been quite the week for the UK's mobile battleground, with Three UK's owner Hutchison Whampoa announcing its plan to acquire O2 for a cool £10 billion. And today, confirming recent rumours, BT is ready to re-enter mobile ten years after offloading its shares in O2 and getting out of the game. BT is pursuing its own, mammoth acquisition of EE, of course, but while it waits on regulatory approval, it's tapping EE's network under an MVNO agreement penned way back in 2013. BT is now part of the quad-play club, and like fellow members Virgin Media and TalkTalk, it's going after the price-conscious consumer with a trio of SIM-only plans.
UK carriers graciously agree to £100 bill cap for lost and stolen phones
A lost or stolen mobile is bad enough, but things can get considerably worse if whoever picks it up sticks you with a mammoth bill for good measure. Smartphone kill switches or a simple screen lock can save you from such injustice, but hindsight isn't much comfort when your phone's already MIA. That's why all of the UK's major carriers have agreed to a new £100 "liability cap" that could protect you from the worst-case scenario of no phone, huge bill. The "voluntary agreement" -- drafted with government guidance and signed by EE, O2, Three, Vodafone and MVNO Virgin Media -- does come with fine print attached, however. You'll only be eligible for the liability cap, which limits your maximum outlay to £100, if you report your phone lost or stolen to your carrier and the police within 24 hours of it going missing. Contacting your mobile network so they can freeze your account should be top of your to-do list anyway, but is this added level of consumer protection really as awesome as everyone involved would have us believe?
Comparethemarket revives Orange Wednesdays with 'Meerkat Movies'
When EE announced its replacement for Orange Wednesdays earlier this week, we couldn't help but feel a slight pang of disappointment. Sure, cheap movie rentals are nice, but the deal isn't a patch on snagging two-for-one cinema tickets in the UK. If you're feeling the same way, there's some good news today: Comparethemarket is taking up the mantle and offering movie lovers the same promotion, albeit with a couple of caveats. The biggest one is that you'll need to buy something through Comparethemarket first, such as car, travel, life or home insurance. If you've bought something from the site already, you can open the "Meerkat Movies" app immediately and use the deal for the next 12 months, starting from the day you made the original purchase. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until April 3rd, when the promotion is officially launched for everyone else. Unlike Orange Wednesdays, the deal can also be redeemed every Tuesday and Wednesday, giving you a little extra choice over when you watch the latest blockbusters and indie flicks.
