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EE details shared and PAYG data plans, NFC payment service, new router
There was only one form of bacon present at EE's breakfast event today, but plenty more to chew on, as the UK 4G provider shed light on its new shared plans and PAYG data-only offerings. The sharing scheme, launching on July 17th, will put up to five devices on one bill and allow them to feed from the same data allowance. Starting with any regular contract, you can add other phones or devices at any time. Snagging another phone SIM for one year costs £12 per month, or £17 if you only need it for 30 days -- you can also get handsets to go with those SIMs for additional dinero. Every phone plan you tack on includes unlimited calls and texts, but if you only need a SIM for data, it'll cost £5 each month on a two-year contract, £8 for a 30-day commitment, and more if you want a USB dongle, MiFi hotspot or tablet on top. EE had plenty more to tell us, so head below the fold if you're up for the full rundown.
EE doubling 4G spectrum allocation in 12 cities tomorrow to boost speed
EE invited us to a breakfast get-together this morning, and spectrum was on the menu. Back in April, EE reported that it would be doubling the LTE spectrum allocation in ten cities, promising twice the speeds, at some point during the summer. We now know the switch is being flipped tomorrow, and in addition to the ten already announced, Derby and Nottingham are also getting double bandwidth to play with.
EE now offering flat-rate unlimited broadband and call packages
EE's 4G may grab the headlines, but the company's also offering land line phone and internet services with a (Kevin) Bacony-twist. Now, the network is coaxing existing customers away from rival ISPs like Virgin and BT with six new unlimited broadband and call packages. The £5-per-month basic tier will give you unlimited ADSL and weekend calls, while bluer bloods can fork out £29 a month to get unlimited fiber (up to speeds of 76 Mbps), unlimited calls to landlines and 1,000 free mobile minutes each week. We've added a chart for comparison after the break, assuming you don't reach for your wallet every time you see a product pitched by the guy from Footloose.
EE adding shared 4G, PAYG data-only plans this summer, now boasts 500k subscribers
After adding monthly SIM-only plans to its product line-up last week, EE's announced a few new subscriptions that people will have access to at some point this summer. One is a shared option, which'll allow patrons to use their plan "across phones and tablets, or with other people." The other is a PAYG data-only option, so you'll be able to buy gigabytes without signing up for anything long-term, and gobble them up on your tablet, laptop, MiFi device or anything else with a SIM slot. We don't have any firm launch dates or pricing for either of these plans, but more is expected "in the coming weeks." In other news, the number of customers on EE's LTE network has exceeded the half a million mark, meaning around 200,000 new subscribers have come on board since April.
Mobile Miscellany: week of May 27th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, a new addition to the LG L-Series surfaced in Russia, a Lumia 920 was sighted that'd make Oscar the Grouch flip, and TalkTalk added three new devices from Huawei to its roster. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of May 27th, 2013.
EE announces monthly 4G SIM-only plans starting at £23 for 500MB
Before other carriers in the UK get their 4G networks up and running, EE's looking to bolster its customer base by tempting you with an LTE fling, rather than a long-term relationship. The network already has 12-month SIM-only plans available if you don't need a device, but today has launched 30-day SIM-only options for the commitment-phobic. That freedom comes with a £2 mark-up per month over the year-long plans, however: the cheapest option rings up at £23 every 30 days for 500MB of data, with a maximum cost of £63 for 20GB. Every price tier comes with unlimited texts and calls as standard, and if you're intrigued by a no-strings-attached trial month, you can snag a SIM at stores, online, or over the phone right now.
Facebook won't bring HTC First smartphone to the UK after all (update: due to bad feedback in the US)
After a series of rumors about the HTC First not selling too well in the States, we've now heard that the customized Facebook / Android handset won't be coming to the UK. Mobile News initially reported that UK pre-orders will be cancelled and we've just confirmed this with our own sources, who said that it was Facebook itself who made the decision, rather than HTC or either of the European carrier partners (EE and Orange). We've reached out to HTC and EE for confirmation and will update if we get a response. Update: We've just heard back from EE, who confirmed the rumor and attributed Facebook's decision to "customer feedback" that resulted in a need to improve the Facebook Home interface before spreading it to further markets: "Following customer feedback, Facebook has decided to focus on adding new customization features to Facebook Home over the coming months. While they are working to make a better Facebook Home experience, they have recommended holding off launching the HTC First in the UK, and so we will shortly be contacting those who registered their interest with us to let them know of this decision. Rest assured, we remain committed to bringing our customers the latest mobile experiences, and we will continue to build on our strong relationship with Facebook so as to offer customers new opportunities in the future."
EE has lured 318,000 customers to 4G since launching five months ago (updated)
EE's just released its Q1 2013 earnings, giving us a look at its first full quarter with 4G services. The carrier says it's on track to its goal of a million 4G customers by the end of the year, thanks to the addition or migration of 318,000 LTE customers since the service launched.. Despite those more profitable clients, however, total service revenue (excluding hardware sales) was down 1.5 percent for the period over last quarter, to £1.42 billion. On one hand, the number of 4G additions could be seen as disappointing considering the company's strong marketing push of the service -- though on the other, the company's only just activated numerous regions, making that one million 4G subscriber goal seem more likely than not. We'll just have to wait a bit longer to see if Brits are really in love with LTE's extra zip -- and willing to pay for it. Update: This article originally stated that EE added 318,000 4G customers in Q1 this year, but that figure actually represents the number of users the carrier has added since launching its 4G service five months ago.
EE to double 4G spectrum allocation, boost speeds in first ten cities by summer (Update: LTE-A testing starts this year)
While EE scrambles to spread its LTE network far and wide before the other UK carriers get into the 4G business, it also wants to flex some spectrum muscle. The network's announced it's planning to double the LTE allocation on its 1800MHz band (from 2 x 10MHz to 2 x 20MHz), which it claims will increase download speeds to an average of 20 Mbps, topping out at 80 Mbps. Ten of the 11 original 4G launch cities will be seeing this bandwidth boost first: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. EE doesn't want you to think it's done expanding, though, and says it'll continue to make use of its MHz and GHz by rolling out boring, normal LTE in new areas whilst doubling up in others. The first ten cities are due to receive "double-speed" 4G by summer, which we assume means around the time summer is supposed to happen. Update: EE's Howard Jones has added on Twitter that the network will start trialing carrier aggregation, LTE-A (that's even better 4G) later in 2013. We've asked for more details and will fill you in when we hear more. EE will be trialling carrier aggregation, LTE-A, for 4G within 2013. We'll be the first anywhere in the world to do so. #onestepahead - Howard Jones (@howard_jones) April 9, 2013 [Image credit: Lazygamer, Flickr]
HTC First coming to Orange and EE in Europe
The HTC First might be launching on AT&T, but that doesn't mean this built-for-Facebook device is going to be limited to the US: we just learned it will eventually arrive in Europe too, on Orange and the UK's EE network. Unfortunately, whereas AT&T came armed with pricing and availability details ($100 on April 12th), we still have no idea when, exactly, the phone will hit these other carriers. If you want to try before you buy, of course, you should be able to download the Facebook Home skin through Google Play pretty soon.
EE launches free 4G WiFi service in (some) London black cabs
So, previous taxi WiFi solutions were too slow, or you weren't underground. What's a smartphone-tethered Londoner on the hunt for WiFi supposed to do? The current answer is to flag down one of London's 40 4GEE taxis, all of which will be loaded with WiFi router connected to EE, the UK's only LTE network. If you're not dahhn sahhf, you'll still be able to pick up the signal in ten cabs that'll be circling Birmingham. Ironically, these 4G-ready black cabs will no longer be black. Nope, they'll be coated in the turquoise hues of the EE network, which should make them easier to spot. Anyone living in either metropolis should have no troubles keeping up with new Doctor Who, Downton Abbey or Peep Show ever again. At least for the next three months, which is how long the service is set to last.
EE switches on 4G in 13 more areas, claims half of the UK population now covered
After spending a week relaxing in the Cumbrian countryside, EE's back on the road, bringing its 4G LTE network to some relatively more populated areas. The company has announced 13 additional locations it's coating with high-speed coverage today: Bradford, Bingley, Doncaster, Dudley, Harpenden, Leicester, Lichfield, Loughborough, Luton, Reading, Shipley, St Albans and West Bromwich. This brings the total number of regions under the 4G umbrella to 50, which EE claims, coincidentally, now covers 50 percent of UK residents. A higher June rollout target has also been set -- switch-flipping is planned in 30 extra towns and cities before the end of that (hopefully) summer month. EE is certainly scrambling to get as much coverage as possible, as well as your business, before any of the other players get a chance to join the 4G club. Oh, and if it's shiny new handsets you're after, remember Galaxy S 4 pre-orders are live on EE's website today.
EE brings its 4G to Cumbria, rural home of the signal blackspot
We're not surprised to learn that Cumbria is a hotbed of people working from home, as we'd do the same if we had the Lake District to wander around during our lunch hour. The downside of living in an area of outstanding natural beauty, of course, is that there isn't even any landline broadband to use -- but EE has despatched Kevin Bacon to remedy that with some 4G infrastructure. Residents of the Northern Fells will get mobile broadband offerings from £15.99 a month, and the company will use it as a gauge to see if it should provide services for other underserved rural communities. It seems that EE's now the network for hill walkers as well as technofreaks.
Samsung Galaxy S 4 gets April 26th UK release date, pre-orders start March 28th
Was that late April launch date for the Galaxy S 4 a little too vague for you? Well, fortunate British readers, you get something a little more specific. The UK's only LTE network, EE has stated that it will start selling Samsung's new Galaxy, both online and in its bricks and mortar establishments, starting April 26th. It's keeping quiet on the prices, matching those other UK carriers for the time being, but we're sure prices will appear ahead of any preorder page -- that's set to go live on March 28th.
Mobile Miscellany: week of February 25th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought news of a new direction for Muve Music, the arrival of a budget smartphone at Sprint and a whole lotta LTE expansion. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of February 25th, 2013.
Ofcom announces 4G spectrum winners in the UK, snags less cash than expected
UK regulator Ofcom has revealed the winners of its 4G spectrum auction after more than 50 rounds of bidding: EE, Hutchison 3G (Three), BT subsidiary Niche Spectrum Ventures, Telefonica (O2) and Vodafone. It wasn't all good news however, as the agency revealed the auction only roped in £2.4 billion pounds, less than the £3.5 billion it had anticipated. Left on the outside looking in? MLL Telecom and HKT Company. Interestingly enough it was Vodafone -- headed by CEO Vittorio Colao who famously suggested only "technofreaks" were into 4G speed -- that spent the most. The idea is to spread high speed wireless across "almost the whole" UK population by 2017 at the latest, and the auction's intent was to create more competition in the space. Telefonica UK specifically is required to provide indoor reception to at least 98 percent of the population by then, as a condition of its bid. As seen above, the available 250MHz of spectrum was auctioned off in two separate bands, 800MHz (ideal for expanded coverage and freed up by the digital TV transition) and 2.6GHz more suited to high speed data connections. So what's next? You guessed it -- another round of bidding, to determine where in each band the winners spectrum lies, before services roll out in spring or summer of this year. Hit the source link to check out the full results for yourself and prepare for the 5G battle, expected to commence sometime after 2018.
EE sees contract activations fall during its first quarter with LTE
When EE activated its LTE network part-way through its fourth-quarter, there was an assumption speed-hungry Brits would storm the company's numerous stores to get at that super-fast mobile data. The reality, however, seems to indicate that it takes more than a Kevin Bacon commercial to send the homeland into a frenzy. The company's financial results show that the network only added 201,000 customers between October and December 31st -- 49,000 fewer than in Q3 and 112,000 fewer than signed up in the same period in 2011. EE also isn't breaking out figures for how many of its existing customers made the change -- so for now we'll have to assume that the UK isn't as sweet on the guy from Footloose as Olaf Swanee had hoped.
EE promises UK 4G to 27 more towns by June 2013
The UK's first 4G network continues to expand coverage, this time extending its catchment to more than 65 towns and cities in total. New LTE locales include the likes of Oxford, Stevenage, Guildford and... Blackpool (check the full list of towns after the break) with EE announcing that it currently covers 45 percent of the UK population -- setting up in big cities will do that. This new roll-out should bring it up to 55 percent later this year, although around the same time it'll finally see some healthy competition for 4G customers from Three.
Mobile Miscellany: week of January 28th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a resolution to HTC's kerfuffle with the custom ROM community, along with a handful of special edition Samsung smartphones and new efforts toward spectrum sharing with the US government. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of January 28th, 2013.
Blackberry Z10 UK pricing revealed: all devices 4G-ready, free on £36 per-month contracts (updated)
Liked what you saw? Even happier then, as a Brit, that you'll likely be getting your hands on it months before your US cousins? UK networks have started to announce availability for the handset, with EE, O2, Three and Vodafone already confirmed to be stocking the Z10. Retailers that will also be selling the new BB10 hardware in the British Isles include Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U. Retailer Phones 4U will launch both color options (exclusively, at least initially), free on contracts starting from £36 per month although it hasn't ventured a contract-free price just yet. However, it is offering a free 64GB PlayBook to the first 250 orders. The Carphone Warehouse, meanwhile will be offering the Z10 free on contracts of £36 per month on the major networks. Vodafone will offer the Z10 for £29 on the £42 a month Red Data plan, including unlimited calls and texts as well as 2GB of internet. It'll be free on the £47-a-month variant plan, or cost a £69 one-off payment on the £37-per-month plan. Three UK hasn't revealed any details beyond that it'll be stocking the handset, while O2 has it free on £36 per month contracts, or on pay-as-you-go for £480 if you're feeling flush. While all Z10 devices sold will be ready for 4G, according the Waterloo crew, the BlackBerry Z10 will be available to utilize EE's existing 4G service immediately. The price? It'll be £50 on a £41 per-month 24 month package, with 1GB of mobile data, as well as unlimited UK calls and texts. No word just yet on whether Orange and T-Mobile will be offering cheaper bundles later. We'll update here when we hear more pricing details from the other players.
