Mobile operator EE today launched the UK's first 4G internet service, promising speeds of up to five times faster than currently available on smartphones. In theory this means consumers can download films in mere minutes on the move and brands can serve up much richer mobile ads. But will it take off?
Here we look at some of the key questions facing those who are considering adopting the new service.
Will 4G really be as fast as promised?
Tim Dunn, director of mobile strategy, glue Isobar
If you stick one person under a mast, and everyone else switches their phones off, they’ll get brilliant coverage. But as we get more users on 4G, and as people start watching YouTube on the go and consumption goes up, you will experience [the speed] falling off pretty quickly.
To compensate for that negative side, over the past 10 years or so we’ve seen on average a 37 per cent increase in network speed pretty much annually. Whatever 4G we start with, it will get better quickly as the technology is tweaked and optimised. 3G was pretty lousy at the start and we’ll see the same with 4G.
With the cheapest price starting at £36 a month for just 500mb of data, is 4G worth it?
Carl Uminski, chief operating officer, Somo
Pricing-wise, the new 4G packages look pretty reasonable. And the tariffs are all about data which keeps things simple - there's no need to try and compare texts and calls and data allowances, you just pick the data option that suits you best. But that could be where the problem lies for consumers. Do people have any idea how much data they use each month? Probably not. So how are they supposed to choose between a 500MB package or a 5GB?
What's not clear (at least on the main EE price plan page) is what the packages actually mean for the average consumer. A bit more explanation would be really helpful here. What's so good about 4G anyway? How many TV programmes can I watch each week? Can I stream Spotify on my way to work each day without going over my limit?
And interestingly, while EE says you can 'take all your minutes and texts with you when you go and explore Europe' they don't say if you can take your data as well. International data roaming could be a real differentiator for EE but it doesn't seem that way for now.
Will consumers be rushing to switch to 4G?
Adam Levene, chief strategy officer, Grapple
4G will eventually claim mass adoption but this is unlikely to happen for a number of years. The vision of 4G is to deliver high speed internet services anytime, anywhere, but whilst data plans remain expensive, it will remain a 'nice to have' feature for only a select few. Price will be the most important factor in the growth of the service.
Due to the delayed launch in the UK compared to the rest of the world, there is greater media attention, though I’m not convinced this hype is yet reflected in public demand.The impact of 4G’s arrival will not be felt immediately, except perhaps in rural areas that have never fully benefitted from a fast 3G or broadband connection.
Do advertisers need to start thinking about it?
Jon Mew, former Orange head of marketing and now head of mobile at the Internet Advertising Bureau
The reality is the vast majority of customers aren’t going to have 4G over the next few months, so the priority for a brand should still be around doing the basics - whether that’s getting your mobile advertising strategies right, your mobile search strategies right, building mobile apps. We've still got some way to go before the average brand is thinking about the additional things 4G can do for its customers.
Fifty per cent of the top 100 advertisers still don’t even have a mobile site. The key thing is getting their mobile strategy right first of all. The fundamental problem we need to address is caused by consumers adopting this kind of stuff quicker than the industry can keep up with.
How could a brand use 4G?
Clair O'Neill, marketing assistant, Mubaloo
Businesses around the UK will be able to use these features to improve their customer interactions and internal business processes. For example, customer services teams will be able to offer improved communications through face-to-face real-time video calls, and retail companies, for example, will be able to improve their multichannel experiences by allowing customers to access extra product knowledge through rich media apps in-store.
Is 4G a game changer?
Aaron Lumsden, chief developer, McGrath O'Toole
No I don’t think it is a massive game changer at the moment. I mean, faster internet connectivity is always a plus but for the time being it’s not going to revolutionise the way we connect to the web using our handsets. Having said that, advancement in technology always leads to innovation, so it’s not to say that the benefits that 4G can bring will be more noticeable in the future.
Ultimately, will it succeed?
Matt Champion, media services director, Fetch
For me, 4G will be a success. But only in the same sense as when Gillette add an extra blade to their razors. Or make the blades vibrate. 4G is an upgrade – both for the operators and the consumer – so while it will of course improve user experience, it’s not necessarily a game-changer. This is because its success depends on a number of factors.
Firstly, someone needs to pay for it. Secondly, location and device are key here: as 58 per cent of smartphone users and 93 per cent or tablet owners use Wi-Fi as their preferred data connection (Deloitte) the density of Wi-Fi hotspots – and their usage – will impact on whether people use their cellular or their Wi-Fi connection. If it’s difficult to access Wi-Fi (because of cost, location or speed etc) then cellular will win, even if the experience is still lower grade than Wi-Fi.
Additionally, in the UK 51 per cent of smartphone users have data packages of less than 1GB and only 21 per cent have unlimited data (YouGov) – so perhaps we’re already getting enough.