The UK carrier Three has announced that it will begin its 4G LTE rollout in four major UK cities starting in December of this year, with a further 42 cities due to be added by the end of 2014. According to its website, London, Birmingham (including the surrounding West Midlands), Manchester, and Reading will receive 4G coverage by the end of the year. Unlike other British carriers, Three is not charging a premium for its 4G services, as long as customers have compatible devices.

Screen-Shot-2013-09-11-at-13.23.57
Customers who have compatible devices (Three's 4G network will work on the 800 MHz and 1,800 MHz frequencies on LTE bands 3 and 20) will be automatically upgraded with no extra fees. The carrier is also notable for being the only UK operator to offer truly unlimited mobile data with no exceptions, dubbed 'all-you-can-eat data' by the company.

Three already claims the fastest 3G network in the UK due to the implementation of HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA technology, which allow theoretical browsing speeds of up to 6 and 12 Mbps respectively. The company claims its 4G network will allow browsing speeds of up to 14 Mbps, which although is almost five times faster than standard 3G speeds, it still puts it behind the leader EE, which has doubled its LTE browsing speeds in several UK cities, allowing for theoretical browsing of up to 60 Mbps.

Three, along with the other British carriers EE, O2 and Vodafone, will all support LTE browsing on the new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, both of which were announced yesterday at Apple's iPhone event in Cupertino, California. Both devices are compatible with the 800 MHz and 2,600 MHz frequencies, which were unsupported by the iPhone 5. Both O2 and Vodafone now allow customers to register their interest for the new devices, which are due to be released next week.

Top Rated Comments

SimonMW Avatar
154 months ago
NIce that companies like Vodafone are investing in 4G. Lovely for those in major cities. Maybe they should sort out the rest of their network though. I can only just get Edge, if I'm lucky, in most place, and usually GPRS.

Fed up of paying high carrier prices to subsidise peoples fast connections in big cities. It's about time people paid a price representative of what kind of connection they can get in their area. Then maybe these companies would get off their arses and provide a decent service.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
576316 Avatar
154 months ago
So are 4G and LTE the same thing? When we're connected will it say 4G or LTE in the corner? What's the difference? Really good on Three to do this. After EE monopolised the market and ripped people off, it's a breath of fresh air to see a network which just wants to give its customers the best. Three has always been really great value.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
guzhogi Avatar
154 months ago
Kinda wish the US would build up its infrastructure more. It seems like every other country has way faster 4g/LTE service, faster broadband and other internet services. Plus, a lot of countries have high speed rail systems, and other faster forms of communication, transportation, etc. But the companies are too cheap to upgrade their infrastructure. I know, the US is a big place and it's expensive, but don't these companies bring in millions, if not billions, of dollars of profits? Plus, couldn't we do more of a public/private partnership?

Sorry for the rant, just kinda stressed out about some stuff & need to vent.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AllieNeko Avatar
154 months ago
So are 4G and LTE the same thing? When we're connected will it say 4G or LTE in the corner? What's the difference? Really good on Three to do this. After EE monopolised the market and ripped people off, it's a breath of fresh air to see a network which just wants to give its customers the best. Three has always been really great value.

4G can refer to HSPA+, LTE, WiMax, or other technologies. LTE is always LTE. The iPhone will show LTE. The only time it shows 4G is on AT&T HSPA+ in the US (on other networks, HSPA+ is shown as 3G)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Phazer Avatar
154 months ago
It's a real shame Three don't offer Visual voicemail... :-(
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SimonTheSoundMa Avatar
154 months ago
Wow. It's about time you guys got LTE. :p
Waiting for spectrum to become available, and also to roll LTE-A over LTE in time. The operators were not going to install hardware until LTE-A was ready. Hopefully when the extra spectrum is auctioned off LTE-A can be switched on at a flick of a switch.

The only loser here are EE, most of their LTE Siemens transmitters are not able to do LTE-A.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...