4G. Will it need a new price plan?

StaticNoise

I'm looking at moving to bill pay to get my hands on a phone. It is not my choice, but the phone is too pricey if it is not subsidised. I'm finding that Vodafone is cheapest for me, as they have an Unlimited SMS option for €6 more. They, as other networks, are getting 4G at some stage.

The contact is 18 months. 4G will be up by then.
But, will a 4G plan require a new contract, or will customers just instantly get it? It doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere, and I want to know before I jump in and get locked down.

It is general for all networks, but mostly Vodafone, and they haven't answers.
What do you know/think, or do some insiders know more?

Thanks.

evolutionqy7

Id imagine 4G price plans will be different and probably will have a higher price. Do remember they had to pay a substantial amount for masts, that will be represented in the cost of the tariff.

To be honest I wouldn't wait, could be a while till its deployed. It will be deployed in the most urban areas first, so if your anywhere outside that, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Your handset your going to get now probably doesn't have LTE support anyway, so new price plan wouldn't make a difference.

StaticNoise

Thanks so much for the response.

I was going to get 100 mins and 500MB of data with unlimited texts for €43 just to get subsidised Note II.

This helps, thanks!

Dudda

Looking at what happened in the USA I don't think it will be more expensive. At the start only small area will have coverage so will find it difficult for a company to charge more when you may never get the promised speeds. Also 4G can handle more data and is more efficient so costs less to run. As it's faster people use more data and go through their allowances faster and end up with higher bills. In the USA they really wanted to switch to the faster 4G to get people off the overcrowded 3G.

In the UK with EE it was different as it was a new company so their had to be new contracts.

jarvis

You'll download that 500MB of data in a couple of minutes on LTE data transfer rates. If you look at the UK, the 3Gee crowd are really expensive to the other operators in my opinion so I'd imagine we will follow suit.

cookie1977

jarvis wrote: »

You'll download that 500MB of data in a couple of minutes on LTE data transfer rates. If you look at the UK, the 3Gee crowd are really expensive to the other operators in my opinion so I'd imagine we will follow suit.

This could also be because they're the only one out there now with 4G and are taking advantage. But once the others launch theirs it should come down.

_Kaiser_

StaticNoise wrote: »

Thanks so much for the response.

I was going to get 100 mins and 500MB of data with unlimited texts for €43 just to get subsidised Note II.

This helps, thanks!

I pay €32 per month, get free unlimited texts, and calls to every mobile and landline in the country, 15GB of data and access to all the public eircom wireless points

Thats with eMobile with a Galaxy Note 2 as well. Note 2 is €159 on their site at the moment if you sign up online.

Now bear in mind that I've had a lot of problems too (mostly billing operations and customer service), but you can't beat the package/price that they're offering. What VF are offering you above isn't cheap

Just my 2c

StaticNoise

Thanks for that. However that's only for Eircom customers, of which I am not one.

I'd give my left one to get that offer, but I can't

Also, my registered the mother for it in October, the SIM only offer, and cancelled 6 days later. Since they've kept billing her and screwing up. Not good in that regard.

That said I'd jump that offer instantly if I could.



Also, an update: according to customer care, officially, Vodafone will be providing 4G as standard to all customers if their phones can support it.

godtabh

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

Id imagine 4G price plans will be different and probably will have a higher price. Do remember they had to pay a substantial amount for masts, that will be represented in the cost of the tariff.

To be honest I wouldn't wait, could be a while till its deployed. It will be deployed in the most urban areas first, so if your anywhere outside that, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Your handset your going to get now probably doesn't have LTE support anyway, so new price plan wouldn't make a difference.

From reading threads here there won't need to be a massive investment in infrastructure. Software updates and/or new transmitting equipment is all that's need. Networks are also sharing a lot of the infrastructure

wheresmybeaver

godtabh wrote: »

From reading threads here there won't need to be a massive investment in infrastructure. Software updates and/or new transmitting equipment is all that's need. Networks are also sharing a lot of the infrastructure

The main cost for the networks was buying the licences from the government. Almost a billion euro if i remember correctly! You can be sure that cost will be passed on to the consumer one way or another - that's how it works.

garyingalway

Also, an update: according to customer care, officially, Vodafone will be providing 4G as standard to all customers if their phones can support it


Cheers for this, I've been trying to find this info for ages.

cookie1977

Charge what they want but for gods sake give decent data allowances!!!! I live and pray.

Batesy

I don't think it's really needed for phones to be honest. I feel the 3G is plenty fast for browsing on a phone.

Now mobile broadband, as in dongles and hotshots and such which people will be connecting laptops, tablets, games consoles, smart tvs, sky and apple tvs etc to over wifi, that's where 4g is needed but as was previously mentioned the data allowances will need a complete overhaul.

Can't wait to see the offerings later this year.

evolutionqy7

Batesy wrote: »

I don't think it's really needed for phones to be honest. I feel the 3G is plenty fast for browsing on a phone.

Now mobile broadband, as in dongles and hotshots and such which people will be connecting laptops, tablets, games consoles, smart tvs, sky and apple tvs etc to over wifi, that's where 4g is needed but as was previously mentioned the data allowances will need a complete overhaul.

Can't wait to see the offerings later this year.

Well if your OK with watching 360p videos, thats fine. I want to watch all videos in full HD, I want to be able to download a HD movie and stream it to my TV in mins rather than hours.

I want to enter websites quicker than ever. Things have to advance. It might be just about OK now, think in years time when 4K or 20K becomes a standard. The lousy 3G will seem like dial up

Batesy

So do I want to do all of those things. Just not on my phone.

What I meant was when 4g is being released I'd start with the mobile broadband sims not the phones. Get the 4g dongles and routers out there with big increases in data allowance and we'd be in business.

Not all phones are compatable yet anyway. The ones that are? Obviously there's nothing stopping them getting all the benefits of 4g on the phone when it becomes available but it's the dongles and routers that are going to be the most interesting.

cookie1977

I cant wait for it. If even a fraction of the speeds promised come through I'll be a happy man!

Lots of new 4G phones coming soon anyway. The networks will have plenty of options at launch.

evolutionqy7

Batesy wrote: »

So do I want to do all of those things. Just not on my phone.

What I meant was when 4g is being released I'd start with the mobile broadband sims not the phones. Get the 4g dongles and routers out there with big increases in data allowance and we'd be in business.

Not all phones are compatable yet anyway. The ones that are? Obviously there's nothing stopping them getting all the benefits of 4g on the phone when it becomes available but it's the dongles and routers that are going to be the most interesting.

Because there are more mobile phone users than there is mobile broadband hence why its more important. 4G Dongles will be there anyway.

All the low end phones are still going to be 3G anyway, some middle end phones are going to have it too, some might just skip it to cut costs.

I can definitely see having to pay a premium for using 4G and you will have to pay extra on your handset to get that feature.

So if its not for you. Just ignore it.

Bigcheeze

Dudda wrote: »

In the UK with EE it was different as it was a new company so their had to be new contracts.

EE is not a new company, it's the largest operator in the UK. It's just the new brand name for Orange and T-Mobile. I'm expecting 4G to be a paid add-on to existing contracts here.

StaticNoise

garyingalway wrote: »

Cheers for this, I've been trying to find this info for ages.

You're welcome mate. I was the same, and I am sure other people are the same.

Mimikyu

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evolutionqy7

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I don't think it has put networks under pressure now. Ever since they launched that, other networks just seemed to reduce their data allowance more and more and not the other way around to catch up to Three.

If it does happen ill be pretty happy I'm more interested in a good internet allowance than lots of mins and texts. They can all be done through the internet anyway.

grahambol

When is 4G (LTE) due to launch here? This Summer?

cookie1977

grahambol wrote: »

When is 4G (LTE) due to launch here? This Summer?

Vodafone have said they'll definitely launch this summer.
http://irishtechnews.net/ITN3/vodafone-ireland-demos-4g/

StaticNoise

The one thing is that even if 4G is offered free, not many people, I imagine, have LTE compatible phones that would cause a heavy load or an issue.

That said, fair play to Three for doing it.