Vodafone won’t be launching its speedy new 4G mobile network this summer as planned; instead it will go live in September to coincide with the launch of a certain Apple smartphone.
The red network had originally planned to launch its 4G network over the summer after securing bandwidth in the 800MHz and 2600MHz spectrums earlier in the year through the Ofcom 4G auction. However, The Guardian reports that the network will be waiting until September to launch.
Speaking to the newspaper, Vodafone’s chief executive Vittorio Colao said; “We want to be able to launch it when it’s really ready. End of the summer means when there is going to be a good commercial window for launching it.”
It seems pretty clear that the network wants to launch its new network to coincide with the launch of one of the biggest phones of the year that will be able to make use of it – the next iPhone.
Apple’s current iPhone 5 supports 4G LTE networks although it would not work on Vodafone’s 800MHz and 2600MHz spectrums. Launching a network when one of the most well-known 4G phones doesn’t work with it wouldn’t make any commercial sense, but clearly Vodafone knows that the next iPhone – presumed to be the iPhone 5S – will feature wider support for all types of 4G network around the world.
On the other hand, most Android phones currently sold with 4G compatibility do support Vodafone’s spectrums, but clearly Vodafone isn’t going to use Google’s platform as a springboard for its 4G network.
The network will be working alongside O2 to share infrastructure for its new network, although O2 itself is aiming to launch its own 4G network this summer “at the earliest”. Three will also be launching a 4G network although has confessed it isn’t in a rush as it already offers a speedy ‘Ultrafast’ service. Orange and T-Mobile likely won’t offer 4G services for a while longer in order to draw attention to sister brand EE, which is currently the only 4G network in the country.