Yesterday, 4G arrived in 10 of England's main cities, with many more being added to the list by the end of the year. 4G claims to be able to allow users to access the internet with speeds up to 5 times faster than 3G networks - faster than some home broadband speeds. The new 4G connection is currently being provided by EE (formerly known as Everything Everywhere), formed by the merging of networks T-mobile and Orange. But the question is, will 4G be worth the price tag it brings with it?
In fact, when comparing EE's price on Apple's new iPhone 5 on 4G to Orange's price on 3G (Unlimited calls and texts with 500MB internet), the 4G tariff appears to be only £3 more expensive on a 24 month contract, at £36 a month, with a device cost of £179.99 (totalling around £43 a month). This is surprisingly cheap for the service being offered, perhaps making the service available for lower budget customers. A problem arises in the fact that there are currently only seven phones operating with 4G connectivity, all of which are at the higher end of the market. This means that customers with a lower budget may have to wait a while until they can get their hands on a 4G deal. However, when other networks begin to provide 4G signal sometime next year, competition should cause prices to fall.
Another issue is in the small number number of cities currently able to recieve 4G signal. Currently only 10 cities are able to receive 4G signal, rising to 16 by January. Therefore many will have to wait a while until they can access faster mobile internet rates.
But the advantages of this super-fast new connectivity probably outweigh the negatives; 4G will be more appealing to business users than WiFi because of its privacy and security. It is also capable of film downloads in seconds, and watching live TV without buffering. It is for these reasons that 4G will surely become a steadfast replacement for 3G.
In fact, when comparing EE's price on Apple's new iPhone 5 on 4G to Orange's price on 3G (Unlimited calls and texts with 500MB internet), the 4G tariff appears to be only £3 more expensive on a 24 month contract, at £36 a month, with a device cost of £179.99 (totalling around £43 a month). This is surprisingly cheap for the service being offered, perhaps making the service available for lower budget customers. A problem arises in the fact that there are currently only seven phones operating with 4G connectivity, all of which are at the higher end of the market. This means that customers with a lower budget may have to wait a while until they can get their hands on a 4G deal. However, when other networks begin to provide 4G signal sometime next year, competition should cause prices to fall.
Another issue is in the small number number of cities currently able to recieve 4G signal. Currently only 10 cities are able to receive 4G signal, rising to 16 by January. Therefore many will have to wait a while until they can access faster mobile internet rates.But the advantages of this super-fast new connectivity probably outweigh the negatives; 4G will be more appealing to business users than WiFi because of its privacy and security. It is also capable of film downloads in seconds, and watching live TV without buffering. It is for these reasons that 4G will surely become a steadfast replacement for 3G.
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