O2 has announced a launch date for their 4G mobile network as the 29th August.
Initially only available in London, Leeds and Bradford, the mobile giant plans to rool the service out to another 10 cities by the end of the year.
Currently EE has sole control of the 4G market in the UK, offering 95 cities 4G capabilities at a lower rate than O2’s planned basic tariffs.
EE’s cheapest rate is £21 a month for voice and data and £15 for just data whereas O2 have said that their basic tariff will cost £26 a month, although it is not clear if this will be the lowest rate that O2 plans to offer.
O2, which is owned by Telefonica, also said that their 4G services would initially be slower than EE current speeds, but would improve once the service is more established. The company also confirmed that their network would not be compatible with Apple’s iPhone 5, unlike EE.
Vodafone, Three and BT are all planning to launch their own 4G services before the end of the year. BT plan to stay out of competition with the mobile networks and provide broadband capabilities as an alternative to wi-fi.