TechWeek Readers Give EE And Three 4G Vote Of Confidence

Coverage and cost appear to be the most important factors for TechWeekEurope readers when choosing a 4G operator, with more than half of you saying you plan to use EE or Three rather than O2 or Vodafone, according to our latest poll.

EE’s superior coverage and double speeds in some major UK cities meant it took top spot with 32.8 percent of the vote, with the operator having extended coverage to 117 towns and cities since it launched in November 2012.

4G poll results

But coverage isn’t everything. Cost is another consideration, as evidenced by the fact that Three secured second place with 26.7 percent – despite the fact its 4G service isn’t even available yet. Three has promised not to charge customers any additional premium for LTE when it launches in this December. Its coverage is limited to four cities at first, although this will increase to 42 locations by the end of 2014.

The offer of free 4G from Three was enough to put it ahead of Vodafone and O2, both of whom have actual commercially available 4G services. They both rolled out on the same day in August, but Vodafone’s offer of free Sky Sports or Spotify Premium was enough to win 14.7 percent of the vote, marginally more than O2’s 14.1 percent.

Despite EE’s apparent popularity with TechWeek readers, analysts believe all operators will eventually benefit from the awareness created by EE’s extensive marketing campaign, and our poll suggests this to be true.

Just 11.7 percent of respondents said they have no plans to adopt to 4G, meaning the only rational conclusion is that 88.3 percent of you truly believe Kevin Bacon is at the centre of the universe.

Are you up to speed on 4G? Try our quiz!