4G SIM NewsLast week Vodafone celebrated the six month anniversary of its 4G launch by announcing that it already had an impressive 500,000 customers on 4G. The provider also gave an insight into the benefits their customers are getting from ultrafast mobile internet, suggesting that on average their 4G customers use twice as much data as their 3G customers.
The rollout of Vodafone’s 4G network is making rapid progress according to a recent press release. It is rolling out 4G in 208 cities, towns, and districts across the UK, and reports that coverage is now available to 36% of the UK population. Vodafone states that it is spending around £900 million on network improvements across the UK this year. That figure is in addition to the £802 million that it spent on spectrum space, a large part of which was low-frequency spectrum which will allow enhanced indoor Vodafone 4G coverage.
4G Benefits for Vodafone Customers
Vodafone has concentrated on two key entertainment activities that 4G customers might want to use ultrafast mobile internet for; streaming music and watching sport. It gives its 4G customers the choice of two services which are included in 4G plans for a minimum of six months, depending on the package chosen:
- Spotify Premium: This service allows 4G customers to stream over 20 million tracks from the Spotify service.
- Sky Sports Mobile TV: This allows 4G customers to watch live football from the Premier League and Championship, and well as other sports such as tennis, golf, and rugby.
Vodafone’s 4G customers will also benefit from its Data Test Drive offer, which means they can use as much data as they want for the first three months without incurring extra charges. This gives customers the opportunity to see what ultrafast mobile internet can really do and works on both 4G pay monthly and 4G sim only plans, when you sign up for a 12 or 24 month contract.
The 500,000 Vodafone customers that are now on 4G seem to be making the most of the service. Vodafone reports that its 4G customers are using, on average, double the amount of data as their 3G customers, but that customers who are signed up to Spotify Premium or Sky Sports Mobile TV are using even more. Vodafone customers on 4G are also doing twice as much internet shopping, video calling, online banking, and music and video streaming as their 3G counterparts. Overall Vodafone’s 4G customers used 300TB of data during a single month in December 2013.
According to Jeroen Hoencamp, the CEO of Vodafone UK; “It’s particularly exciting to see how the nation is embracing 4G in their everyday lives. Now people in more towns and districts can enjoy Vodafone ultrafast 4G and get closer to the action with our great entertainment packages. So, the question for even more people now is: which do you want – music or sport? ”
Vodafone Red 4G-ready plans with entertainment included start at £30 per month over 24 months for 3GB data and a 4G ready handset, or £26 per month over 12 months for a 4G sim-only deal with 3GB data.