Vodafone kicks off 4G launch in London

Vodafone has flipped the switch on its 4G network, launching today in London with a choice of free Sky Sports or free Spotify music streaming for new customers.

The network, which is due to expand to Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield in the next month, should reach 98% of the UK by the end of 2015.

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However, this staggered launch is a step behind rival O2, which also launched today in three cities, and significantly behind EE – the UK’s first 4G network now has 100 towns and cities connected at LTE speeds.

However, Vodafone’s incentives could be enough to persuade customers to sign up to its 4G contracts. As well as unlimited data for the first three months, unlimited calls and texts and then double Vodafone’s standard data allowances, customers will also get to choose between free access to Sky Sports Mobile with live coverage of Premier League and Championship football, tennis, cricket, golf and rugby, or a free subscription to Spotify’s premium music service. Considering the latter costs £10 a month anyway, it’s a tempting proposition.

SIM-free contracts start at £26 per month for 2GB of data, or 24-month contracts with a 4G smartphone varying in price depending on your choice of handset. For example, a {A HREF=”http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/smartphones/1299553/samsung-galaxy-s4″]Samsung Galaxy S4[/a] with 2GB of data will cost £38 a month.

Vodafone’s CEO Guy Laurence said that the company was “giving people a reason to get excited about it as we switch on a new site every 30 minutes. In the few days since we launched our 4G plans, more than 20,000 people have signed up.”

We’ll be taking a closer look at Vodafone’s 4G service in the coming weeks, to see how it compares with O2 and EE’s LTE networks. In the meantime, eager customers can sign up for a 4G contract at the Official Vodafone web store.