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Macaroooon

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 9, 2012
378
3
I thought I could with any to take advantage of the 4G/ LTE (Sim only, buying the iPhone outright) until I read something yesterday.

Say I went with, Gifgaf, would I not be able to use the 4G/ LTE. Or Tesco?

If not, who should I go with :/
 
EE has exclusive rights to build a 4G network for a year (although Three has worked out a deal to use some of their network). By the time the others are building 4G networks there will be a new phone out.

It's EE or no 4G at the moment.
 
You need to be with either T-Mobile or Orange to get 4G, you will then transfer to a new contract on EE (Everything Everywhere) when it launches.
 
I thought I could with any to take advantage of the 4G/ LTE (Sim only, buying the iPhone outright) until I read something yesterday.

Say I went with, Gifgaf, would I not be able to use the 4G/ LTE. Or Tesco?

If not, who should I go with :/


EE (and Three) [Orange/T-Mobile] [will] have spectra (1800Mhz) compatible with the iPhone 5 for LTE networks.

Other networks may not have access to the 1800Mhz spectrum.

giffGaff use O2 as does Tesco Mobile, I believe. O2, Vodafone will not be able to offer LTE for the iPhone 5.
 
O2/giffgaff and vodafone would have to wait till next iPhone for 4G as they will be using a frequency not supported by the iPhone 5 so it's either sign up to Orange or T-Mobile or Three at the min for 4G
 
RIght, this is a lot more complicated that I thought.

So say I took out a Sim Only plan with Orange/ T-Mobile, how would I transfer to EE? If I'm on a 12 month Sim Only plan is this a problem?
 
RIght, this is a lot more complicated that I thought.

So say I took out a Sim Only plan with Orange/ T-Mobile, how would I transfer to EE? If I'm on a 12 month Sim Only plan is this a problem?
sign up via their website ee.co.uk and they will be in touch when 4G is in your area
 
RIght, this is a lot more complicated that I thought.

So say I took out a Sim Only plan with Orange/ T-Mobile, how would I transfer to EE? If I'm on a 12 month Sim Only plan is this a problem?

They are being cagey with pricing and how switches will work at the moment so it is hard to say.
 
Ah, well this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.

I originally wanted to buy the phone outright, and then buy a Sim-Only 12 month contract, because I want the 64GB version, and the 24 month contracts available push my budget, but this changed things, as really, I may as well get a 4S if I can't take advantage of the main feature for me, 4G/ LTE.
 
Ah, well this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.

I originally wanted to buy the phone outright, and then buy a Sim-Only 12 month contract, because I want the 64GB version, and the 24 month contracts available push my budget, but this changed things, as really, I may as well get a 4S if I can't take advantage of the main feature for me, 4G/ LTE.

Where do you live?
 
I live near Portmadog in North Wales (But we actually live up a hill..) and I'm shortly moving to Bangor University.
 
Ah, well this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.

I originally wanted to buy the phone outright, and then buy a Sim-Only 12 month contract, because I want the 64GB version, and the 24 month contracts available push my budget, but this changed things, as really, I may as well get a 4S if I can't take advantage of the main feature for me, 4G/ LTE.

Do you live in any of these places: -

"4G coverage in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol is currently being tested ahead of launching in "weeks".

Rivals have voiced concerns that EE had been given an unfair headstart by launching first.

Other cities to get the high-speed connectivity are Belfast, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Newcastle, Sheffield and Southampton."

? (Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19543042)

If not, who knows when you'll get access to 4G.
 
just be aware that O2 are currently implementing DC-HSDPA (3g+) which allows 40 Mbps.

From what I have read, O2's offering in the next 12 months will be faster than EE's 4G. Although 4G can go up to 100Mbps, this is apparently not true of EE's implementation.

Realistically, I doubt O2 or Vodafone will have good 4G coverage until end of 2013. The availability of 3G+ in the meantime therefore seems like a decent stop-gap.
 
just be aware that O2 are currently implementing DC-HSDPA (3g+) which allows 40 Mbps.

From what I have read, O2's offering in the next 12 months will be faster than EE's 4G. Although 4G can go up to 100Mbps, this is apparently not true of EE's implementation.

Realistically, I doubt O2 or Vodafone will have good 4G coverage until end of 2013. The availability of 3G+ in the meantime therefore seems like a decent stop-gap.

Three's got DC-HSDPA as well.
 
Hmm, well no I don't think so..

So I suppose now it's a matter of me deciding whether to spend the money, and buy the 5, which will allow me, at some point in the future to access 4G, or get a cheaper model.
 
How much do you use 3G? If you use wifi a lot more than searching around for 4G may not be a big need

The A6 chip will make it faster than the 4S anyway
 
Ah right cool. Didn't mean to sound like an advert for O2! Was just focusing research on them because they are my current provider.

No problem - I like both O2 and Three, but Three just give me so much more (apart from better speeds and lower ping times).
 
I'm a newbie, this will be my first iPhone, and smartphone, so I can't say what I'd use.
 
Hmm, well no I don't think so..

So I suppose now it's a matter of me deciding whether to spend the money, and buy the 5, which will allow me, at some point in the future to access 4G, or get a cheaper model.

My understanding is still that it's likely that the iPhone 5 will not be able to support all the UK 4G systems. Until all plans are published, we'll not know which ones
 
Hmm, well no I don't think so..

So I suppose now it's a matter of me deciding whether to spend the money, and buy the 5, which will allow me, at some point in the future to access 4G, or get a cheaper model.

What phone do you have now? If you keep your existing phone for another year, you'll have a much greater choice with regards to which network to use. EE's 4G network should have matured somewhat by then too.

If your heart is set on the iPhone 5, then bear in mind that Three and O2 have started rolling out DC-HSPA on their networks which supports speeds of up to 40mbps.
 
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