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UK's first 4G LTE service priced

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  • 23-10-2012 11:58am
    #1
    watty
    Registered Users Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭


    Everything Everywhere has announced what it will charge for 4G mobile broadband today. Prices for the snappy connection starting at £36 a month.

    Unfortunately, that'll only feed punters 500MB of data a month, which could be gobbled quickly on a connection with download speeds ten times that of HSPA 3G.

    That allowance can be upped to 1GB for £41 a month, with 3GB available for £46 and 5GB for £51. Extremely data-peckish users can opt to pay a mammoth £56 for 8GB of downloads every 30 days. At least everyone gets unlimited calls and texts with that.
    via el Reg

    In reality when there are customers a 5MHz LTE 4G channel is on average the same speed as 3G with one user (0.12Mbps to 21Mbps depending on location) and about twice as fast if very many users (peak speed 1Mbps to 2Mb instead of 0.5Mbps to 1Mbps).

    The larger 20MHz channels are NOT "ten times that of HSPA 3G" but 4 times when only one user and at best 8 times better than 3G when heavily loaded, but per user speed on 3G or 4G is then 1/10th to 1/40th single connection in use speed.

    So not Broadband replacement. It's a MOBILE Internet service complementary to BROADBAND.

    Not Cheap either. I only use my phone for calls and Text. €15 a month. Even in Ireland you could get 120x that cap and typically up to x20 speed (vs real average LTE with viable customer numbers) for that money on some real Broadband packages.

    I think it's not too much different to Vodafone charges in Germany where they say it's a complementary to Broadband service for "road warriors". Not Rural offices, Homes and Farms.


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    #2
    bealtine
    Registered Users Posts: 4,051 ✭✭✭bealtine


    http://www.4gdongles.co.uk/ee-4g-prices-plans-incentives-released/


    with extra handy-dandy tables...

    It is seriously expensive


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    #3
    watty
    Registered Users Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    When the network is empty it may do 20Mbps + and Journalists will gush. But in real life expect poor coverage, dropped connections, an average speed with good signal of 1Mbps to 4Mbps but down to 0.2Mbps.

    The low caps are to ensure it's for "on the go" use and a coarse way to control contention and keep performance good. If it was home/Office users with 20G caps the performance would go to hell at peak times.


  • Options
    #4
    watty
    Registered Users Posts: 32,417 ✭✭✭✭watty


    Americans already pay considerably more than us Brits: a 1GB cap on EE will cost £26, while the same connectivity on AT&T is more than forty quid ($65) and won't permit tethering - so we shouldn't be surprised to see EE charging a premium for 4G. That's not because 4G is more expensive, but because the cost of data needs to rise (to make up for the declining voice revenue) and 4G is a justification by which that can be achieved.

    I have argued for some time that a COST and TRAFFIC analysis suggests that most mobile 3G operators charging about €20 for essentially a voice and text only or about €20 for data package are cross subsiding data at about x100 to x300 vs the voice costs & revenue.

    This needs to be stopped by the regulator as it kills investment in real Fixed Broadband. The 3G nor 4G is not Broadband.
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/25/ee_4g_pricing/


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