Ofcom: "Many Britons have no plans to use 4G"

Aye UpAye Up Posts: 7,053
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An article from the beeb
Many people in the UK see no reason to upgrade to 4G mobile services, according to Ofcom research.

Just under a quarter of UK smartphone users have no intention of signing up to 4G, according to an Ofcom report.

Although many people are aware of the existence of 4G mobile data services, they have no immediate plans to upgrade.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23549609

I think this generally echoes points I made in another thread, at the moment the majority of people see no benefit or USP to 4G from any of the networks, I feel it is going to struggle with uptake in the same way 3G did for all those years. Its fine for us on here to say we can get XX speeds for XX price and use it for teathering, streaming and so on but to most people I don't feel that factors. When I had my mother a touchscreen phone she doesn't care how fast it connects to the internet or how it gets the information as long as she can browse some sites and facebook she is fine. I feel that is reflective of the UK populace at large, to most people 4G and LTE are indeed "acronym soup" and are just another fancy bit of jargon networks can use to hike up their prices.

Once all the networks have launched their 4G propositions then about a year down the line we will be able to judge how effective 4G has been in getting people to switch or upgrade to enabled services. I do think Three is playing a blinder, not wanting to get into the wars to terminology it using Ultrafast and offering 4G at no extra cost. As I understand it it is also the only network that is increasing its customer aquisitions in large numbers at the moment. The rest is largely lost and gained through churn. I think in a year or so 4G prices will generally be reflective of 3G, as much as the networks say they want to charge a premium. To most people including myself a technology geek the cost isn't really justifiable, when you consider the intangible benefits it would bring to everyday smartphone use.

Thoughts?
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Comments

  • elasticloveelasticlove Posts: 18,254
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    I don't even know what 4G is. :o
  • swordmanswordman Posts: 6,679
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    Its not so much no plans to use 4g I imagine it is seeing the benefits in relation to price at the moment. I for one will get 4g when the price/caps become realistic.
  • IcaraaIcaraa Posts: 6,043
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    Thisisnthe exact reason it can't be chargeable. In the US you don't pay more for LTE so why would they think that model will work here?
  • thebennyboythebennyboy Posts: 327
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    Well there is currently only ONE network that is not charging extra for 4g, Three. Maybe one day the other networks will follow suit rather than try and make it a premium service.

    A quote from the BBC article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23549609
    4G services are generally more expensive than 3G. Consumer uptake will happen when 4G pricing comes down to 3G level, said Ms Ekholm.

    Kinda shows the people that people don't want to pay any extra for 4g. Hence why uptake for 4g seems to be rather low.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    Icaraa wrote: »
    Thisisnthe exact reason it can't be chargeable. In the US you don't pay more for LTE so why would they think that model will work here?

    Yes, but prices went up across the board with the 4G launch.
  • swordmanswordman Posts: 6,679
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    It also means a new phone for many people and phones such as iphone are very limited for 4g.
  • Esot-ericEsot-eric Posts: 1,293
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    4G? I haven't even moved to 3G yet!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,890
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    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    Yes, but prices went up across the board with the 4G launch.

    But people don't see that when they move to a new tariff. All they see is the price for 4G is more and if they feel they don't need it, they won't bother.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    *MikeB* wrote: »
    But people don't see that when they move to a new tariff. All they see is the price for 4G is more and if they feel they don't need it, they won't bother.

    I'm talking about the USA model.
    In the USA both 3G and 4G prices went up.

    In the UK it's just 4G prices that are going up.

    So both hardly benefited the consumer.
  • Jenndo_93Jenndo_93 Posts: 82
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    I'm quite happy with my 3G speed on my iPhone 5 - mobile tariffs are already expensive enough and wifi is so readily available now. It doesn't seem worth paying more for.
  • Chris1973Chris1973 Posts: 670
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    The few people I know elsewhere in the Country who have 4G only have it because their employers are footing the bill. Their daily data usage is generally light anyway, and at least one of them freely admits that non of the activities he does, really take advantage of the increased speed.

    For me personally, I see no gain, in relation to the additional expense. I'm lucky to always see at least 10mbps from my 3G tariff from Three, which is more than quick enough for me, even on the basis that it forms my sole home internet connection. By the time you factor in the additional cost of the upgrade required to get 4G compatible hardware it becomes even less attractive.

    My main requirement is data and the ability to tether, I use very few minutes and send less than 100 texts a month. I can get all of that and more, plus unlimited data for £15 a month currently from '3'

    I don't see the attraction of swapping my current unlimited data allowance, for a 8GB limit on the £61 a month tariff for a 12 month SIMO contract for 4G from EE, regardless of the fact that the speed is faster.

    I think everybody puts an individual value cut off vs price on the worthiness of something, and for me, currently, these tariffs simply don't justify themselves.

    Even a data only sim deal with an 8GB month allowance is £25.99 a month from EE, with no calls or texts.

    I remember a time when Orange, for a short time, offered a 10GB / month 3G deal for £25 a month at a time when large data allowances and unlimited tariffs on 3G were still a novelty and virtually unheard of. So even in comparison with that, this 4G data deal offers poor value.
  • whoever,heywhoever,hey Posts: 30,992
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    My three network provider is so good i can stream video in the office on it, i dont need 4g.

    4G is good for helping mast contention etc. The end user should never be involved in this problem. Its purely an infrastructure problem that should even touch the end consumer.

    The US mobile market is entirely different to the UK btw. It is one place where we are shafted way less than the US. Please do not wish we were like the US in the mobile or broadband consumer market. In fact any telecoms.
  • wrexham103.4wrexham103.4 Posts: 3,334
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    im on tmob FM plan and wont be upgrading to a 4G phone until my contract ends in sept 2014, my S2 and 3G service does everything i want it to now, i have no problem checking mail and streaming youtube vids etc. My only concern is that EE will slow down our 3G to force us on to 4GEE tariffs, who knows....
  • ResonanceResonance Posts: 16,638
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    It's not available where I live, but even if it was it's just not worth the extra money. 3G is fine and there's also plenty of WiFi about nowadays.
  • noise747noise747 Posts: 30,695
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    They need to sort 3G out first, as far as I know 4G signal is not as good in built up areas, but then that depends on the frequency they use.

    My Nexus 4 don't have 4G and I am not planning to replace that for a few years and maybe at that time 4G will be available here at a decent price, or then again maybe not.

    I am fine with 3G to be honest, it is not that I stream on my phone anyway.
  • SpotSpot Posts: 25,118
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    I'm completely lost with all this G stuff as I don't even have a mobile phone.

    I am no technophobe, but I just don't use the phone much so have never seen any need to have one. When I go out, it's nice to get away from the internet and it's even nicer to have some things to check and catch up on when I get home.

    So all this talk about 2G, 3G, 4G etc means absolutely nothing to me and I rather hope it never will.
  • The Lord LucanThe Lord Lucan Posts: 5,054
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    Of course not many (as a percentage) intend to use 4G. We still have folk buying 2G phones.

    Wish the networks would stop allowing 2G phones to be sold as it's shooting themselves in the foot on so many levels.
  • The Lord LucanThe Lord Lucan Posts: 5,054
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    Icaraa wrote: »
    Thisisnthe exact reason it can't be chargeable. In the US you don't pay more for LTE so why would they think that model will work here?

    This is not entirely true and they pay so much more for mobile service than the UK anyways.
  • swordmanswordman Posts: 6,679
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    Spot wrote: »
    I'm completely lost with all this G stuff as I don't even have a mobile phone.

    I am no technophobe, but I just don't use the phone much so have never seen any need to have one. When I go out, it's nice to get away from the internet and it's even nicer to have some things to check and catch up on when I get home.

    So all this talk about 2G, 3G, 4G etc means absolutely nothing to me and I rather hope it never will.

    Why are you on this forum then :confused:
  • big brother 9big brother 9 Posts: 18,152
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    If it was free id sign up well I say free but I mean the same as 3g
  • SpotSpot Posts: 25,118
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    swordman wrote: »
    Why are you on this forum then :confused:

    Just saw it in the headlines as it was the thread with the most recent post as I was looking at the forum home page.

    I do have a passing interest because of the transfer of spectrum from DTT and the prospect of this happening again for something called 5G.
  • psionicpsionic Posts: 20,188
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    I'm in no real hurry to get 4G, as 3G is adequate for my smartphone usage. I'd probably be more interested in it when the price drops and things mature a little like VoLTE availability.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 12
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    This all sounds eerily similar to the early (and not so early) days of 3G. Anyone want to go back to the old analogue systems, those were the days!

    http://www.ukaop.org.uk/news/ukmobileusers3g1255.html
  • Chris1973Chris1973 Posts: 670
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    When I go out, it's nice to get away from the internet and it's even nicer to have some things to check and catch up on when I get home.

    You have a bit of a point there. One of our local pubs is in a valley in a rural area, a natural dead zone where no mobile signal can be received.

    Its actually refreshing to walk into a pub where there is a low hum of conversation and people socialising - as opposed to a lot of the places in town, with rows of people sat gazing down at their phones.
  • 19Nick6819Nick68 Posts: 1,792
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    psionic wrote: »
    I'm in no real hurry to get 4G, as 3G is adequate for my smartphone usage. I'd probably be more interested in it when the price drops and things mature a little like VoLTE availability.

    This ^^

    I have a 4g phone but no intention of paying extra for the service.

    If I need to do anything which 3g would struggle with or uses up my data allowance I'll wait until I have a wifi connection.
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