Britain launches first 4G mobile service

LONDON - Britain's first fourth generation (4G) mobile service was launched in 11 cities on Tuesday by the operator EE.

EE, a company formally known as Everything Everywhere, said the 4G service went live in Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton.

The price is diversified in different plans - 500MB of data would be charged 36 pounds ($58) a month, while more elaborate plans would cost 56 pounds per month with a data allowance of 8GB.

"Today is a landmark day for our company, the UK mobile industry and, most importantly, the country's business and consumers," said Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, in a statement.

Tuesday's launch is reportedly the first phrase of its 4G service. The network will expand by 2,000 square miles every month, both into new cities as well as providing denser coverage in existing areas.

It is claimed around three quarters of businesses are planning to adopt 4G within 12 months.

4G technology can deliver internet download speeds upto 10 times faster than 3G which helped bring the internet to mobile phones a few years ago.

EE was granted Britain's first 4G license in August by Ofcom, the regulator for British communication industries. Its rival companies such as Vodafone and O2 are waiting for a spectrum auction scheduled for early next year to launch their own 4G services in Britain.