Vodafone UK Joins O2 to Launch 4G LTE Mobile Broadband on 29th August

Mobile operator Vodafone UK has announced that its new 4G (LTE at 800MHz) based Mobile Broadband network will officially launch on 29th August in London (though their first 4G-ready plans will be available from 12th August) and it will aim to cover 12 further cities by the end of 2013.

The launch date is the same as O2 announced at the start of this month (here) and even the packages start at the same price point of £26 a month for a SIM-only deal with a 12 month contract. But most of that shouldn’t come as a big surprise because both operators last year agreed to enter into a joint 2G, 3G and 4G network sharing deal (here).

The new network will be based off both the 800MHz and 2.6GHz radio spectrum bands, which Vodafone picked up for a whopping £790 million during Ofcom’s 4G auction earlier this year (here) and just like O2 they aim to reach 98% indoor coverage across the UK over the next few years.

Precise details of the new packages will be unveiled next week (Monday) but until then we do know that Vodafone’s Red 4G-ready plans will come in three sizes – Red 4G (£26), Red 4G L (£34) and Red 4G XL (£39). On top of that the operator has also partnered with Sky Sports TV and Spotify (music) to offer a big bonus.

Vodafone Statement on its 4G Plans

Sign up or upgrade to one of our Red 4G-ready plans and you can choose between either Spotify Premium – which offers unlimited, ad-free music even when you’re offline – or access to all the action from Sky Sports Mobile TV included as part of your plan. Yep, that’s right: your subscription is included for either service for up to two whole years.

Apparently customers whom upgrade from an existing Vodafone Red plan will thus be able to choose from either Sky Sports Mobile TV or Spotify Premium, get double the amount of data you currently have and access 4G for just £5 extra each month without needing to sign-up to a new contract (though you will need a 4G ready device or Smartphone).

But it should be noted that the Sky Sports and Spotify extras aren’t all free for two years (remember they said “up to“). Indeed in the small print it states, “Customers opting for the SIM only Red 4G-ready plan, starting at £26 a month, can choose to have either Spotify Premium or Sky Sports Mobile TV included for the first six months. They are then charged at £4.99 per month for Sky Sports Mobile TV or £9.99 a month for Spotify Premium.” So you have to take the more expensive options if you want more than 6 months free.

It’s also stated that the top Red 4G XL plan will come with a data usage allowance of 8GB (GigaBytes). Obviously this leaves Three UK as the only operator not to launch a 4G services, although they’ve promised to get it online by the end of this year and crucially “at no extra cost” (everybody else seems to charge a premium).