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O2 Announces 4G Launch Date and Details

1st August 2013
[caption id="attachment_3424" align="aligncenter" width="300"]O2 Announces 4G Launch Date O2 Announces 4G Launch Date and Details[/caption]

O2 Announces 4G Launch Date and Details

We’ve known for a while that O2’s 4G service would be arriving soon, but now we finally have an exact date for the launch, specifically the 29th of August. On that date O2’s 4G network will be switched on in London, Leeds and Bradford, with Birmingham, Newcastle, Liverpool, Glasgow, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Manchester and Edinburgh set to join them by the end of the year.

O2 have also given away some details about their 4G tariffs, stating that prices will start at £26 a month and come with a thirty day happiness guarantee - meaning that if you don’t get on with 4G then you can switch back to a cheaper 3G tariff any time in the first thirty days. SIM only and pay monthly tariffs will both be available from launch, with pay-as-you-go tariffs being added later in the year.

If you purchase a 4G consumer tariff direct from O2 you may also be eligible for twelve months of free music content - though O2 are yet to go into specifics of how that will work or whether it’s available on all 4G tariffs.

Business customers can also look forward to 4G tariffs from the 29th of August, with tablet and mobile broadband tariffs offered from launch and mobile Wi-Fi (pop up office) tariffs arriving soon after.

To celebrate the launch, O2 will be holding a launch gig at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, headlined by a multi-award winning act that’s yet to be announced. The gig will be streamed live to billboards and screens across London and will also be available on O2’s social media channels.

Once O2’s 4G network goes live they will become the fastest growing 4G network in the UK, which perhaps isn’t surprising since EE are the only other 4G network and their growth has probably slowed a little as they’ve already provided coverage to a large proportion of the UK.

Still, O2’s growth plans are certainly ambitious as they aim to ultimately provide 4G coverage to 98% of the UK population, both indoors and outdoors.

Ronan Dunne, CEO of Telefónica UK (O2) said of the launch: 

 “It’s great that I am able to announce O2 4G the day after the spectrum has been cleared for use. Digital connectivity will be made ubiquitous by 4G and become the oxygen of modern life. It is our intention to use 4G to inspire the nation through the possibilities of technology, encouraging people to live more, do more and be more with O2.

“The full potential of 4G is as yet unexplored, but what we can be sure of is that it will allow for a whole new world of opportunity that people are now ready for. Over half of our customers say they use more data than two years ago and even more use Wi-Fi wherever they go, to always stay connected. Given this trend, there is no doubt that 4G will transform our lives, be it as consumers, in business or through public sector services.”

Editorial Manager

James has been writing for us for over 10 years. Currently, he is Editorial Manager for our group of companies ( 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk) and sub-editor at TechRadar. He specialises in smartphones, mobile networks/ technology, tablets, and wearables.

In the past, James has also written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media, Smart TV Radar, and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV. He has a film studies degree from the University of Kent, Canterbury, and has over a decade’s worth of professional writing experience.

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