Slings and arrows aside, 4G is a hot topic at the moment here in the UK. In just days we will see brand new LTE services being launched by Vodafone and O2, ready to compete against EE’s 10-month-old service. However, the lack of unlimited price plans currently available for 4G from EE seems to be creating a hesitation among consumers in the move up from 3G.
UK regulator Ofcom’s Communications Market Report, out in early August, showed that 38% of respondents knew what 4G was but were unlikely to buy into it by April 2014, with only 8% saying they definitely would. Additionally, only 30% of those questioned said they intended to upgrade at the end of their existing contract.
Backing this up further, a recent report from an advice service for mobile phone users, Mobilephones.com, states that the majority of mobile users are not interested in 4G as an upgrade to their 3G services. It points to confusion over data use and an absence of unlimited data packages as the cause for the lack of take-up.
Altogether, 86% of mobile phone users questioned by Mobilephones.com stated they would not opt for 4G. 47% said that they feel that ‘unlimited’ is better value and 40% said they don’t know how much data they need. Interestingly, the report showed that 66% of 3G users go over their data allowance no more than once a year compared to only 38% of 4G users (so far).
Meanwhile, EE released data from its service on its customers’ usage of 4G services. Nearly 50% say they browse the web more on 4G than 3G. A further 43% say they use fewer or no public Wi-Fi hotspots since having 4G, and 23% say they use their home broadband less since moving to 4G.
It will be interesting to see, once Vodafone and O2 have launched their own 4G services on 29 August, how the competition in the British market shapes up. This is where things begin to get very interesting in Britain, starting with the launch date, announced first by O2 and then copied by rival Vodafone.
I predict a price and data bundle war, as the numbers of users migrating to 4G is not running in a flood but more of a trickle; not good for operators investing in spectrum and network infrastructure. Something has to be done to increase the flow of migrating smartphone users.
Obviously EE has a massive head start, but the other two operators have had the opportunity to watch and learn for an extra 10 months. Will more end users migrate to 4G? Will operators provide the UK market with the unlimited packages they are looking for? 4G, so many questions…
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