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Vodafone pushes value with its latest own-brand 4G phone and tablet
'Tis the season of own-brand device launches, it seems. A couple of weeks ago, EE announced its new range of in-house products, including two smartphones, and today it's Vodafone's turn to show what low-cost hardware it's been cooking up of late. Joining last year's Smart 4 power/turbo handsets and the more recent Smart 4 max is the new middle child: the Smart prime 6. With a 5-inch, 720p display, 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410, 1GB of RAM, 8 gigs of storage and 8-/2-megapixel cameras, it's not the most exciting of devices. That said, it's 4G-ready, loaded with Android 5.0 Lollipop and comes in at £79 on pay-as-you-go, or free on contracts from £17 per month.
Vodafone's revamped mobile contracts come with 4G as standard
Vodafone is introducing a host of new monthly plans today with 4G connectivity as standard. The change affects its range of 12 and 24 month contracts, now called "bundles," and mirrors the stance taken by other networks such as EE and Three. In short, customers want faster speeds, and now that 4G-enabled devices are cheaper and more prevalent, it makes sense for Vodafone to offer its full network capabilities to everyone.
Vodafone's mobile payment app to scrap top-ups with a new SIM
If you want to make contactless mobile payments in the UK, your options are pretty limited. Apple Pay is only available in the US (for now) and Google Wallet is bound to Gmail transactions and Google Play purchases in Britain. Spotting the opportunity to take an early lead, Vodafone is readying a new Visa-powered alternative. The company already offers an app called "Vodafone Wallet," but it relies on the user managing a separate SmartPass account. To pay with your phone, you first have to shuffle money across from your bank account to Vodafone's virtual piggy bank. It's a huge pain, so the network is prepping an updated app that allows customers to store their card details directly on the phone.
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?
Vodafone to launch WiFi calling in the UK this summer
We've all experienced ropey reception at one time or another. Those frustrating moments when you really need to make a call, but the line just won't connect, or you're left trying to decipher broken, distorted responses from the other person. Now, following EE, Three and O2, Vodafone has announced plans to offer WiFi-enabled calls in the UK. Three and O2 have already launched their respective services, but to use them you need to have a dedicated app installed on your smartphone. EE is trialling a service that doesn't rely on any extra software, and today Vodafone says it'll be using a similar approach. So in theory, it'll work quietly in the background with minimal input. Provided you're connected to a WiFi network, calls will switch over automatically when you're out of network coverage.
Dixons Carphone just made a deal that should avert a Phones4U-style disaster
Although there were a multitude of reasons behind Phones4U's demise, one of the key factors was the overwhelming lack of support from the UK's major carriers. Three and O2 severed ties with the company way in advance of its closure, but it was a shake of the head from both Vodafone and EE that dealt the final blow. For a short time, it looked as if the mobile reseller model could be under threat, spelling trouble for Phones4U rival Carphone Warehouse, a retailer that had just been picked up by Dixons Retail for £3.8 billion.
If Spotify was an '80s record store, it might've looked something like this
Have you ever wondered what a Spotify record store would've looked like in the '80s, or a Now TV-branded video rental chain? Me neither, to be honest, but that didn't stop Vodafone from including these fantasy locations in its retro-inspired "1984G Street." Set up a stone's throw from London's Covent Garden Tube station, the temporary, temporal anomaly was less 'street,' more handful of small pop-up shops with a nostalgia-meets-now vibe; much like Sony's PlayStation '94 20th anniversary store. It was just an elaborate PR stunt and brand awareness exercise, of course, as part of a Vodafone's ongoing campaign celebrating 30 years since its mobile network went live. It might've had something to do with 4G, too, given the name. David Hasselhoff rocked up in Knight Rider mode to officially open 1984G Street, which is fitting as he hasn't changed much in 30 years, despite eating more than his fair share of burgers off the floor. The morning I arrived, the Hoff and whatever crowd he drew had long departed, giving me plenty of opportunity to explore the strange installation.
Three UK's owner is reportedly plotting a £9 billion bid for O2
When BT finally confirmed its intention to buy a UK carrier, the company said it had two carriers in its crosshairs: EE and O2. The telecoms giant eventually chose EE and is currently in the process of completing a £12.5 billion acquisition, but Telefonica-owned O2 has quietly become the subject of interest from Three UK owner Hutchison Whampoa. According to The Sunday Times, the UK mobile market could quite soon shrink from four major operators to just three, after talks between the two companies reportedly progressed to a point where Hutchison Whampoa is ready to make a £9 billion bid for Britain's second-biggest carrier.
It's been 30 years since Britain's first mobile phone call
Exactly 30 years ago today, two men made history by completing the first mobile phone call in the UK. As everyone celebrated the opening seconds of 1985, Michael Harrison, the son of former Vodafone chairman Sir Ernest Harrison, rang his father from Parliament Square in London. The call was supposed to be a surprise; Michael had snuck away from his family's New Year's Eve party in Surrey and driven up to the capital earlier that evening. In his possession was the Transportable Vodafone VT1, a cumbersome 5kg block with carry handle, antenna and tethered receiver. One of the network's technicians punched in the correct number and passed Michael the handset, as a curious crowd tried to work out who the minor celebrity was and exactly what he was doing. The call connected after just a few rings (perhaps it wasn't such a surprise for Sir Ernest Harrison) and the pair chatted briefly: "Hi Dad, it's Mike. Happy New Year. This is the first ever call on a UK mobile network."
UK carriers agree £5 billion coverage improvements to avoid 'national roaming'
Ever since the notion of national roaming first appeared back in June, the UK government and the four major mobile operators have fought over how best to rid Britain of so-called "not-spots." Culture Secretary Sajid Javid wanted to implement a system where customers would be able to switch to an alternative network if their own wasn't available, but carriers argued that it would slow network expansions in rural areas, push up investment costs and potentially pass on that cost to subscribers. However, after months of talks, there's finally some good news to report -- plans for national roaming have now been scrapped, after EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three vowed to pump £5 billion into the UK's mobile infrastructure.
Vodafone's return to the US next year will be powered by T-Mobile
After selling back its stake in Verizon Wireless, British telecom Vodafone is planning a US comeback in a very different form late next year: a standalone wireless service as a MVNO on T-Mobile's network. This isn't something you'd likely be subscribing to, though -- Vodafone says it's aiming the unnamed service at enterprise customers. And it may also end up giving Vodafone subscribers from the UK and elsewhere better roaming support in the US. Since divesting itself of Verizon Wireless earlier this year, the company has been focused on offering better service to its European customers. Last month it upgraded its 4G service and added a bunch of new roaming countries (which it topped off yesterday). It was only a matter of time until Vodafone started tending to its customers' needs in the US.
Vodafone extends 4G roaming to cover 40 countries
You probably take Vodafone's 4G network for granted when on home turf, only to be saddened by slower speeds when travelling further afield. Well, Vodafone wants to make sure you get full use of your phone's LTE radio while abroad, and after announcing a bunch of new countries where 4G roaming is supported a few months ago, it's added almost as many to that same list today. Of the 17 new countries that make up the now 40-strong list, Japan, Mexico and Saudi Arabia are arguably the most notable, though you can have a gander at the full roster after the break. As you may already know, Vodafone lets customers use their normal voice, text and data allowances abroad for either £3 per day in Europe, or £5 per day everywhere else. And if you're travelling to any of the newly added countries over the holiday period, consider today's news an early stocking-filler.
EE and O2 are now serving 4G inside the Channel Tunnel
Having mobile internet access inside the Channel Tunnel is useful, but where are those faster speeds we were promised? Well, after expanding their 2G and 3G networks in March, EE and O2 are finally offering 4G connectivity on the Eurostar. Vodafone could soon get in on the action too, after the network said in January it would also be rolling out its own 4G coverage inside the tunnel (although it's yet to provide any clues as to when that will happen). Regardless, the superfast speeds from EE and O2 mark another milestone for the iconic 31.4-mile underpass, which has been jettying passengers between England and France for over 20 years. So, the next time you travel to Paris (or beyond), you might want to rethink your preferred mode of transport -- if you want to stay connected and actually get some work done, the Eurostar could be a better option than a direct flight.
Vodafone in talks to bundle Now TV boxes with its new broadband service
Vodafone only confirmed it will take another stab at selling broadband last week, but already rumours of potential tie-ups are starting to circulate. According to The Telegraph, the operator is in talks with Sky to bundle Now TV access in with its internet service when it launches next Spring, like it already does for its 4G plans. Although negotiations are said to be in the early stages, Now TV streamers could provide Vodafone with a short-term answer to set-top boxes offered by rivals EE, BT and TalkTalk, allowing it to offer quad-play packages in the UK. Let's not forget, Sky is also set to become a member of the exclusive quad-play club, after it began trialling its own mobile network (with Vodafone's help) late last month. While you might not be a Vodafone customer, you could still benefit from a potential tie-up with Sky -- increased competition provides more choice and greater choice often results in lower pricing.
TalkTalk ditches Vodafone to offer 4G plans with O2's help
As one of the UK's only quad-play providers, TalkTalk offers mobile plans alongside its TV, phone and internet packages. Since 2010, the company relied upon Vodafone's infrastructure to underpin its own network, but it's now decided it wants to try something new. In a joint announcement, TalkTalk and Telefónica (UK) today publicised an agreement that will see the UK media company switch across to O2's network, allowing the carrier to provide 3G and 4G services for its customers. With Virgin Media bundling mobile plans with its traditional home bundles and Sky thought to be readying the public launch of its own network (with Vodafone's help), TalkTalk now faces significant competition in the battle over low-cost tariffs. However, considering 9.5% of its total customer base already own one of its SIMs, the provider is already off to a pretty decent start. Update: Chatting with Bloomberg, TalkTalk's CEO said the partnership with Telefónica will go beyond simply using the latter's mobile network. With help from its new friend, TalkTalk wants to outfit its customers with femtocells (akin to small, indoor mobile masts), so they'll never have to worry about spotty mobile signal at home.
Ofcom's first 4G survey shows that speed isn't everything
All of Britain's major mobile networks have been offering 4G for a while now, but because all have their own infrastructure, speeds and coverage can vary wildly. Each carrier is quick to boast their own statistics, but thanks to Ofcom's first ever 4G research report (which tested networks in five of the biggest UK cities) we're finally able to separate fact from fiction. EE and O2 took first and second place in the all-important average download speed test, reaching 18.4Mbps and 15.6Mbps respectively, while Three claimed victory for the time needed to load a simple webpage. The carrier, which was originally a 3G-only operator and the last to offer its customers 4G connectivity, also took the gold medal for latency, which is crucial for video calls and apps that require fast response times.
Vodafone to offer home broadband again, three years after it gave up
Just as some major UK broadband providers look set to launch their own mobile services, one operator is shaping up to move the other way. In an announcement today, Vodafone confirmed that it'll launch its own home broadband network in the Spring next year, three years after its first attempt resulted in failure. The carrier says it will lean on the infrastructure it acquired when it bought Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for £1 billion back in 2012, allowing it to join carrier rival EE, but also BT, Sky and Virgin Media in connecting Britain's homes.
National roaming: why mobile operators are fighting the UK government
The concept of national roaming first appeared back in June, when Culture Secretary Sajid Javid began advocating a system that would allow UK mobiles to switch networks in places where the carrier they're supposed to be on offers no signal. The idea is to rid Britain of so-called mobile "not-spots," rural areas where populations are small and coverage is minimal, by coercing the major carriers to share their networks with each other. The government recently launched a consultation to explore ways it can achieve this goal. Operators, however, have been vociferous in their opposition to the plans. What's their excuse?
Ofcom to expand 4G in the UK with new spectrum auction next year
The UK's four main carriers may steadily be building up their 4G coverage, but regulators don't want to leave the future of Britain's superfast networks to chance. UK communications regulator Ofcom today announced that it intends to auction more 4G spectrum late next year (or early 2016), giving operators to opportunity to expand their LTE networks with more high data capacity spectrum. It expects to raise between £50 and £70 million from the sale, which will then line the pockets of the government.
Vodafone and Sky grow ever closer as Now TV becomes a new 4G perk
UK carriers are always looking for new incentives that might persuade people to switch allegiances, and Vodafone is no exception. The carrier is enhancing its 4G contracts today by adding Sky's Now TV streaming service to its existing trio of limited-time perks. New subscribers taking out a Vodafone Red 4G plan, as well as anyone buying a £30 or £40 Red 4G Freedom TopUp, can choose Now TV's Entertainment Pass as their preferred perk. To sweeten the deal, Vodafone is also throwing in a 3-month Movies Pass for free.
