Everything Everywhere hits back at rivals over 4G campaign

Mobile operator Everything Everywhere (EE) has hit back at rival operators O2, Vodafone and Three for suggesting that its 4GBritain website is designed solely to advance its own interests.

Yesterday, its rivals suggested that the campaign was not about raising awareness, as claimed, but about EE launching a 4G service before its competitors.

An EE spokeswoman told Computing that the 4GBritain website was launched to raise awareness and to speed up the implementation of 4G in the UK

"4GBritain is not really a campaign, it is a website. It is to raise awareness of 4G so people understand the technology, and its secondary purpose is to ensure that 4G is brought to the UK and ensure that it does not take a few more years before this is possible," she said.

The spokeswoman added that EE has applied to use its existing 1800MHz spectrum to deliver 4G services but that the provision of the network is costly.

"EE has applied to use its 1800MHz to roll out a 4G network and is committed to invest £1.5bn over the next four years in bringing it up to scratch. 4G is not just going to come from the release of spectrum [after the spectrum auction scheduled for the end of 2012], operators need to invest in it and it is expensive," she explained.

EE's rivals are opposed to EE using its existing 1800MHz spectrum to deliver 4G services, persuading regulator Ofcom to extend its consultation period.

However EE's spokeswoman suggested that other mobile operators are not yet willing to invest in 4G and that O2 and Vodafone, who own all of the 900MHz band, could have liberalised their share of the spectrum.