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Sky could soon launch its own mobile network with help from Vodafone
When BT finally gets round to launching its own-brand mobile network running on EE's 4G infrastructure, it'll join Virgin Media and TalkTalk as a provider of all four main telecoms services: TV, internet, fixed-line telephone and mobile. This would leave Sky as the only rival telecoms company without a mobile offering, but a new trial with Vodafone suggests it, too, could be adding mobile to its product portfolio in the near future. As Mobile Today reports, 200,000 allegedly "handpicked" Sky customers were offered Vodafone's services as part of trial launched last month. It's not unreasonable, then, to hypothesize that this is the preliminary stages of Sky launching its own MVNO based on Vodafone's network.
Vodafone launches faster 4G and expands LTE roaming to 23 countries
Are you a Vodafone 4G customer? Good news, your downloads could soon get that much quicker. As part of a billion pound investment into its network, the carrier has begun rolling out the UK's first widely accessible LTE Advanced network. LTE-A, as it's known, will go live in Birmingham, Manchester or London in the coming weeks, promising to boost signal and improve 4G speeds thanks to increased network capacity. LTE-A is actually capable of blistering maximum download speeds of 300Mbps, but that requires a Cat 6 LTE smartphone, which aren't sold in the UK currently (though you can import a compatible device from somewhere like Korea if you're so inclined). Faster 4G will come to more cities by the end of the year, allowing Vodafone to increase its lead over EE, which is currently conducting closed testing of its own LTE-A service.
Vodafone's £125 Smart Tab 4G is its first LTE tablet
When Vodafone announced its first own-brand 4G smartphones back in July, we figured it would only be a matter of time until we saw an similarly-equipped tablet emerge. Today, the carrier confirmed our suspicions by unveiling the 8-inch Smart Tab 4G, a slightly modernised version of the 3G-only Smart Tab 4 we saw go on sale back in June. So what's different? For starters, the Smart Tab 4G sports an HD display and has swapped MediaTek's 1.2 GHz quad-core processor for a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410. It also features a 5-megapixel camera, up from the 2-megapixel shooter found on its predecessor. Everything else remains the same, right down to its size, weight, OS (Android 4.4 KitKat) and 4060 mAh battery.
Phone number payments may soon come to the high street
While carrier billing might be changing the way we buy digital products like apps, music and ringtones, it hasn't yet become a mainstream method of payment. That could be set to change, however, after the UK's three largest carriers agreed a new deal that may soon let you pay for physical goods using only your phone number. EE, Vodafone and O2 have teamed up with payment provider Boku to offer carrier billing through the company's new e-Money service, which allows stores to request your number and have the purchase added to your phone bill. Of course, retailers will need to actively support the service, but with the major operators already pledging their support, we imagine stores would jump at the chance to make it easier for customers to pay.
EE scoops up 58 Phones4u stores
When Phones4u entered administration, it immediately shut all of its doors and put thousands of employees on notice. It didn't take long for Dixons Carphone to secure 800 positions, with Vodafone sweeping in shortly after to buy 140 Phones4u stores and save another 900 jobs. Now, it's EE's turn. The UK's biggest carrier has just announced that it's reached a deal with administrators to buy 58 outlets and bring 359 employees onto its books. It's moving quick too, confirming that it'll open the majority of stores within the next week. Over a year ago, EE began reducing its retail presence after its stores began saturating high streets, but now that it's joined Vodafone in pulling out of deals with Phones4u, the company will need to move quickly to fill the gaps left by its former partner.
Vodafone buys 140 Phones4u stores, saving 900 jobs in the process
A lot can happen in a week: just five days after Phones4u announced it was entering administration, leaving 5,596 employees facing a very uncertain future, retailers and carriers alike have stepped in to strip the company of its most important parts. Dixons Carphone has already picked up 800 employees from its rival, and now Vodafone, one of the two operators that unceremoniously ended their relationship with Phones4u in recent weeks, has announced a deal to buy 140 former stores, saving a potential 900 jobs as a result. Vodafone says it was approached by the company's administrator and "decided to make an offer to buy 140 of its stores as a way to accelerate our retail expansion programme and save hundreds of jobs." While some people will swap their Phones4u role for a Vodafone position, today's restructuring efforts also came at cost. The administrator announced 628 employees at Phones4u's head office in Newcastle-under-Lyme and telesales staff in Staffordshire were today made redundant in an attempt to reduce expenses. There's currently no word on which stores the Vodafone intends to rebrand, but we've asked the company for more details.
Dixons Carphone gives hundreds of stricken Phones4u employees new jobs
When Phones4u announced its surprise decision to call in the administrators, its 5,600 employees were left facing a very uncertain future. While the retailer is busy figuring out its options, one of it's biggest rivals, Dixons Carphone, has swooped in and offered a lifeline to some Phones4u staff. In a statement today, Dixons Carphone said it has reached an agreement with Phones4u to hire all 800 employees who had worked in a partnership between their stores.
Phones4u forced into administration after EE says it's pulling the plug
Less than two weeks ago, we remarked that things were looking tough for Phones4u. Today, it looks as though the company no longer has a future. After Vodafone said it was dropping its partnership deal with the company to go all in with Dixons Carphone, EE, the biggest carrier in the UK, has done what it threatened to do earlier in the year and announced it too is going alone. In a statement, Phones4u said that EE has decided not to renew its current contract, which expires in just over a year, leaving the company with no other choice than to call in the administrators. "The unexpected decisions by both Vodafone and EE have come as a complete shock to the business," it noted, adding that it'll honour existing contracts (no word on iPhone 6 pre-orders) but close stores while it assesses its options.
Vodafone's HD Voice launch leaves O2 customers as the odd ones out
HD Voice technology isn't particularly new -- in fact, some UK operators have supported it since as far back as 2010. Very few devices were HD-capable back then, though, but lots of modern smartphones are now suitably equipped, leading other carriers to get their acts together. Today, Vodafone announced it's joining the party, letting anyone with a supported handset make HD calls to others on the same network. HD Voice, if you weren't aware, widens the frequency range of your call, ensuring conversations almost sound like you're talking to someone face-to-face. Today's launch means O2 is now the only major UK carrier not offering the feature, and it says it has no official plans to either. Given most smartphone usage is dedicated to messaging and photo apps these days, today's launch might not excite Vodafone customers all that much. The difference in quality is noticeable though, so prepare to feel like someone's living inside your head the first time a call connects in HD.
EE tries to upstage its rivals with improved pay-as-you-go tariffs
When you're the biggest 4G player in the UK, logic dictates that you don't let your rivals hog the limelight for too long. EE's well aware of this, so just a few days after Vodafone finally joined the 4G pay-as-you-go party, it's decided to improve the value of its pre-paid top-ups in an attempt to distance it from the competition. The new options cover three categories -- Talk and Text, Data and Everything -- letting you decide which of those usage models fits your needs best, possibly stopping you from paying for services you won't use. It's also dropped the lowest PAYG top-up to £1, which includes 100MB of data lasting seven days, in the hope it'll lure in even the most budget-conscious mobile user. Finally, it's ensuring you're rewarded for your loyalty by throwing in an extra 250MB of data, 50 minutes of calls to any network or 250 additional texts to customers who've not missed a top-up for three months. It's even created a comparison guide detailing how its new packs perform against rival offerings, just in case O2 and co. weren't already looking on enviously.
Vodafone ditches Phones4u to go all in with Dixons Carphone
Dixons Carphone is only (officially) a month old, but it's already dealt a huge blow to one of its rivals. In its battle to provide UK consumers with the best value smartphone deals, the newly-formed company today announced that it's signed an "enhanced" sales agreement with Vodafone, sticking another nail in the coffin of rival high street retailer Phones4u in the process. You see, while Carphone Warehouse customers will soon enjoy a greater choice of contracts and pay-as-you-go SIMs, Vodafone has also chosen not to renew its network agreement with Phones4u, which expires in February. The carrier follows O2 and Three in moving away from the retailer, meaning it'll soon offer just EE and Virgin Mobile deals in-store and online. It could get even worse if EE decides to go it alone, but it hasn't yet confirmed that it will, ensuring Phones4u has at least one big name network on its books while it attempts to grow its own.
Vodafone catches up to the crowd with 4G on pay-as-you-go
Coming up to a year since Vodafone switched on its 4G network, the carrier's finally opened those superfast airwaves up to pay-as-you-go customers today. If you already own a compatible handset, all you need is a £20 "Freedom Freebee" top-up -- which grants you 2GB of data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts -- to start enjoying LTE speeds (anything cheaper and you're stuck on 3G). Higher top-ups of £30 and £40 get you 4GB and 6GB respectively, as well as unlimited calls and either Spotify Premium or Sky Sports streaming access. You're probably best springing for the £20 option initially, though, as your welcome bonus to 4G PAYG is unlimited data for the first month. If data is all you're after, PAYG mobile broadband customers can now also access 4G at a minimum cost of £15 for 2GB.
Vodafone targets data-sharing families with its new Red+ plan
Family mobile plans might be big in the US, but they haven't really got going in the UK. However, that isn't stopping Vodafone from trying to change people's minds with the launch of its new Red+ plan. Instead of equipping a family with individual tariffs, Vodafone aims to supply each member of the household with their own SIM, allowing the "plan leader" to distribute monthly data limits depending on how data thirsty they are. These so-called leader plans are basically upgraded Red plans that come with a 2GB, 4GB, 7GB, 10GB or 13GB data allowance, which can then be shared with a family member in 500MB, 1GB, 2GB or 4GB amounts.
Vodafone's Smart 4 power: too expensive for an own-brand 4G phone
4G is now a mainstream technology in the UK, meaning network operators can chase more frugal consumers with low-cost, own-brand handsets. It's unlikely O2 and Three will get involved in this race to the bottom; they simply don't have the experience EE (through its sub-brands Orange and T-Mobile) and Vodafone do in self-made handsets. EE was the first to make a move with the £99 Kestrel, and Vodafone recently launched its rebuttal: a pair of smartphones in the Smart 4 turbo and Smart 4 power. I've already commented on their price tags (£135 and £175, respectively), which are high enough to make you wince considering their competition. And, after spending a little quality time with the higher-end Smart 4 power, I can't say I feel any different.
Vodafone's first own-brand 4G phones could struggle to compete
Last year we would've bet our lunch money on Vodafone being the first UK carrier to release an own-brand LTE smartphone. After all, we spotted a "Vodafone Smart 4G" picking up its roaming permit from the US communications regulator, and only a few weeks after the carrier switched on its UK LTE network. Alas, the phone was destined for other European countries and EE pipped Vodafone to the post with the launch of the 4G-friendly Kestrel. Vodafone's finally caught up, however, releasing a pair of LTE handsets under its own name: the Smart 4 power and Smart 4 turbo (left and right in the image above, respectively). The turbo is the inferior of the two, with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 4.5-inch 854 x 480 display, while the power is outfitted with a 1.3GHz quad-core Mediatek processor and 5-inch 960 x 540 screen. Otherwise, both have 1GB of RAM, unspecified amounts of on-board storage (with microSD support), 5-megapixel main shooters, front-facing cameras, and run Android 4.4 KitKat.
UK's major carriers want to end mobile deadspots in England's National Parks
Whether you live in, work in or are just visiting one of England's National Parks, you may soon be able to take advantage of better mobile signal. The UK's four major carriers have extended their partnership with National Parks England to deliver better connectivity while protecting the environment and picturesque views in 10 parks across the country. Under the terms of the new accord, the Mobile Operators Association (which represents EE, O2, Vodafone and Three) will allow the sharing of mobile masts, sites and "any other technical advances," keeping development in rural areas to a minimum. It also covers the provision of 4G networks, which could be a boon for the 330,000 people living in England's National Parks, as they have the potential to reach places that broadband connections can't.
Vodafone's WorldTraveller makes roaming cheaper in eight expensive countries
Vodafone's decided to do away with itemised roaming charges in eight far-away countries, today announcing that customers will be able to use their existing voice, text and data allowances in the USA, India, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Ghana, Qatar and South Africa for £5 per day. This WorldTraveller add-on complements Vodafone's existing EuroTraveller offering, which covers allowances in numerous European countries for £2 per day (£3 after August 31st). However, both bundles fall noticeably short of Three's Feel at Home service, which offers free roaming in 16 countries, although Vodafone does cast a wider net than its rival. To opt-in, pay monthly customers can dial 5555 when they touchdown in any supported country, and they'll only be charged for days they use the phone.
Three reminds Vodafone patrons they can still cancel their contracts for free
Vodafone decided in May to tell everyone it was committed to never increasing prices mid-contract, and Three was quick to highlight its identical policy -- one that's shared across the industry thanks to Ofcom regulations that state any customer can ditch their contract without penalty should pricing go up during the term. Vodafone then announced that same month it would be upping the cost of charges incurred when going above your monthly allowance of calls, texts and data. While the increases don't technically affect monthly contract pricing, they still meet the Ofcom criteria thats allows customers to exit their contract scot-free. And, with the new overage charges coming into effect on June 28th, anyone that wants to take advantage of the easy out needs to tell Vodafone they're leaving within the next few days.
UK government wants to end mobile deadspots with 'national roaming'
Mobile operators might be doing more to put an end to signal blackspots in rural areas, but large parts of Britain's countryside remain underserved. BBC News reports that in a bid to change this, the government is thinking about forcing carriers to share their networks in these areas as part of a new "national roaming" initiative. As you may expect, networks are against the idea, arguing that it would offer less incentive to build more mobile towers and could result in extra costs being pushed to customers. Nevertheless, Culture Secretary Sajid Javid wants to implement a system where you'd switch to an alternative network if your carrier's is not available, just like when you travel abroad. Worryingly for providers, the government could pressure them into sharing their networks using existing legislation, meaning they might not have a say in it anyway.
Vodafone admits some governments have free rein to eavesdrop on calls
Gone are the days when we thought governments could only access our phone calls through official, naive-sounding procedures like "warrants." Nevertheless, it's only now, after the whole Snowden / NSA blow-up, that companies like Vodafone are trying to be more transparent. In a 40,000-word "disclosure report," the multinational carrier says that "a small number" out of the 29 countries in which it operates demand to have "direct access to a phone operator's network," thus "bypassing" any control the operator might otherwise have had over the privacy of its customers. Needless to say, Vodafone doesn't call out any of the culprit nations by name, since doing so would breach the same laws that it agreed to uphold in order to business with them in the first place.
