No doubt you've seen the TV ads for EE's new 4GEE service, and possibly witnessed your local orange or T-Mobile shop rebrand to EE at the end of October. The company is the only mobile operator in the UK with a 4G network at the moment (and competitors don't appear to be close to rolling theirs out), so has a monopoly on super-fast mobile broadband.
It's fast, but you'll quickly run out of data on 4GEE
As we've seen first-hand, speeds can be truly impressive, matching or beating your home broadband connection for both upload as well as download speeds. In the real world it's unlikely you'll see the 40Mbps speeds we were able to enjoy before 4G made 4G available to the public, but there's a good chance of being able to access a connection that's between five and 10 times faster than your current 3G connection. That's assuming you live or work in one of the 16 cities where 4G is available, of course, and preferably in the centre.
However, we were surprised by EE's 4GEE tariffs. The pricing was always going to be high, but we didn't expect to see such meagre data allowances. It's absurd that a 500MB plan even exists. With a 4G connection was running at 10Mbps (a speed you'll typically achieve), you'd burn through that data in less than seven minutes.
Yet, EE suggests you wind down on your commute home by streaming a film. Given the faster connection, you'd probably want to stream it in HD. That's 3.2Mbps if you're streaming from BBC iPlayer, so a typical two-hour film would use just under 3GB of data.
Oddly, EE offers only 8GB of data per month on the top 4GEE tariff, which costs an eye-watering £56 per month (or £66 if you want a 12- rather than 24-month contract), and there's no unlimited data option.
EE hasn't really explained the decision, and is putting out mixed messages about how it expects people to use 4G. On one hand it likened 4G to a high-speed train, claiming that you'll cover the same distance per journey (or use the same amount of data per activity), but in less time. On the other, it says you can play games, watch TV and stream HD movies on the go.
The point of having fast mobile broadband is to enable on the move the sort of activities you would previously have enjoyed only over Wi-Fi. Until the data limits are brought into line with home broadband packages, streaming The Apprentice in HD will remain an unaffordable luxury.
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Comments
armchairnavigator said: never had a use for 3g even less desire for 4g anyone that pays anything for it deserves to be ripped off for being a complete moron
Trash-bin said: would rather stick with 3G than pay these over inflated prices for virtually no data
Dave Fyfe1 said: Hi folksI question the pricing on 4g contractsI have a phone contract with orange an a data plan with three In both cases I get in excess of 11Mbps courtesy of HSPA and in the case of the three device DC HSPAQuestion why would I go for 4g at a cost of 56month for what is not unlimited data 4g is only marginally quicker and my town does not even get 4g coverageI would urge anyone looking into getting 4g to have a look at three on the one plan which offers unlimited data which is plenty fast enough for a mobile device comes at a reasonable cost as well
Koklok said: I feel exhausted after reading this
Susan cunniff said: i just bought a EE contract coming from a orange pay as you go i only took the 500GB of data as i wanted it for the 12 month contract and what come with it unlimited text and calls i put on 2 international add ons that gave me 500 mins to the EU i made one 49 mincall on the international and for some reason then looked at my mins good job i did i only had 6 mins left they had taken all the mins for pro rata called them up and they said it was because it was in the middle of the month next month i would get them all what a load of bull st he was talking also the temp number they gave me till mine was crossed over did not work and i only have an internet signal in my house not anywhere outside they can not get the 3G right never mind the 4G this is on going complaint with them have that funny feeling i made a big misstake changing over to themadvice to anyone thinking of going over check and double check everything before you sign up did feel sorry for the lads in the orange shop they did not know what they are doing because they have not been given any info to help the new contracts
marKo said: a total rip offagain what could you expect when tmobile is involved
Mamparra said: Sort of matches the madness with overseas costs and data amounts With tears in my eyes dont these people get it They are unbelievable and deserve all the hatred they get from the users No way would I ever consider 4G or for that matter overseas data roaming on 3G until these thieves and morons finally work it out Total idiots
Grandpa-Pete said: What a complete rip-offAll the more reason for not bothering with mobile internetWith my WiFi iPad I regularly stream movies and enjoy unlimited broadband for 650 per month If I need to check e-mails etc on the go I simply buy a daily allowance for just over 2 as and when I need itUntil mobile internet providers can compete with my WiFi package I will stick to my simple pay as you go mobile phone and 3G iPad dealsWe are supposed to be in a recession after all
Annoyed Mobile Owner said: I was waiting for EE to release their pay monthly SIM only deals and after seeing the tariffs that they haveavailableI can say that Ill be waiting for other networks to roll out 4G For the same price as my contract at the moment where I get unlimited data I can only get 1GB worth of data My monthly usage is 2-3GB so I would eat through the 1GB easily I thought the whole idea of 4G was to be able to stream HD movies and enjoy the luxuries of a wifi internet connection but on the go With 1GB of data you are very limited as to what you can use your high speed connection for and in my opinion it renders 4G useless