IT infrastructure services provider Kyndryl has expanded its partnership with Vodafone Business to enhance security and resiliency services for Vodafone’s customers across the financial industry.

Headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, Vodafone GmbH provides a range of services across mobile and fixed-line connectivity, broadband internet, and digital television, serving an estimated customer base of more than 31 million across Germany.

The firm’s new collaboration agreement with Kyndryl marks the latest step in the pair’s ongoing partnership and will see Kyndryl provide new security measures to help Vodafone customers meet their regulatory compliance requirements.

New additions will include endpoint protection services for servers, workstations, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), alongside vulnerability services, proxy management, and web internet protection services.

Kyndryl will scan end customers’ servers, virtual machines, network devices, firewalls, and endpoint devices to identify vulnerabilities to help protect against emerging threats and potential business interruption.

In an announcement, the pair said the move underscores their shared commitment to innovation, excellence, and delivering tangible value to customers.

"We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Kyndryl and further enhance the security posture of our financial industry clients," said Sascha Roeber, head of sales at Vodafone Business’ finance and insurance division. 

"By combining our respective strengths and resources, we are well-positioned to deliver comprehensive security services to our customers."

As a leading IT infrastructure services provider, Kyndryl designs, builds, manages, and modernizes complex, mission-critical information systems for organizations in more than 60 countries around the world.

The firm has been working in partnership with Vodafone Business since 2018, focusing on infrastructure, cloud, and security services to help meet the unique needs of various industries. 

By extending this collaboration, Kyndryl said the companies will leverage their collective expertise to “set new benchmarks in the realm of cybersecurity” and provide a springboard for sustainable customer growth and success.

"At Kyndryl, we are dedicated to helping our customers navigate within the ever-growing cyber security challenges,” commented Alexander Steineck, vice president of Industrial and Consumer at Kyndryl Germany.

“We are excited to collaborate with Vodafone in Germany to provide advanced security and resiliency services that address the evolving threat landscape and empower our customers to achieve their business objectives."

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) are missing out on up to £8.6 billion a year in productivity savings because of the slow roll-out of standalone 5G, according to research from Vodafone.

In a new report, the telecoms firm said the UK is on course to be the fifth most attractive place in Europe for SMEs to use technology to scale, behind Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands - but could jump to second place if it accelerated the roll out of 5G.

"Over 16 million people in the UK work for small and medium sized businesses. They are the bedrock of our economy. As this research shows we need to help them use technology to grow even faster," said Kevin Hollinrake MP, minister for enterprise, markets and small business.

"That involves providing people with the necessary skills to understand how to make the most of innovative technologies such as AI. It also means ensuring we have first class digital infrastructure including gigabit broadband and standalone 5G rolled out across every part of the UK so that every business can benefit from faster speeds and a more reliable network."

The report gives the example of small agricultural businesses, which it said could see the average worker save over three weeks of their time by utilizing 5G standalone-enabled technologies.

Deploying 5G Standalone at speed and accelerating the development of the technology it enables would lead to a collective saving of over 37.7 million working hours a year across the sector, Vodafone said. 

Long-term, this could deliver £112 million in annual productivity savings and enable SMBs to reinvest and drive business growth. 

Similarly, more than two million employees in the retail sector could save over 45.3 million working hours a year by deploying 5G standalone-enabled technologies such as IoT stock maintenance systems. This, it said, could contribute to productivity savings of £1.85 billion a year.

Other industries that would particularly benefit include science, technology and professional services, with savings of £1.67 billion; construction, with a £1.28 billion saving; and manufacturing, with a figure of £854 million.

Robust 5G connectivity is critical for SMBs

Tina McKenzie, policy and advocacy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said strong a reliable mobile connectivity is "essential for small businesses to thrive", yet many still encounter significant problems in this regard. 

"We often hear that unreliable mobile connectivity remains a big obstacle for small firms and the self-employed, and is particularly disrupting for productivity in rural areas," she said.

"As technology develops, the need for a decent connection is even more vital. Rolling out standalone 5G to all areas of the country quickly and efficiently will help small firms stay at the forefront of technological innovation, improving work rate as well as ensuring the UK remains a great place to start and run a business."

According to OpenSignal, the UK ranks last among G7 countries for average 5G download speeds, while research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows that nearly half of small businesses in rural areas experience unreliable data connectivity.

"It is essential that the UK seizes the opportunity to improve 5G networks to create a first-class environment for SMEs to grow and scale," said Emma Jones, CEO of Enterprise Nation.

Vodafone and Microsoft have agreed on a $1.5 billion, 10-year partnership that will transform Vodafone’s cloud capabilities through Microsoft’s Azure platform.

The telecoms giant said the deal will enable it to accelerate digital transformation efforts as part of a virtual data center migration to Microsoft Azure. 

Long-term, Vodafone expects the move to curb maintenance and energy costs across operations in both Europe and Africa.

In a statement confirming the partnership, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said the tech giant will support Vodafone in applying “the latest cloud and AI technology” to enhance customer experiences.

Vodafone Group chief executive Margherita Della Valle said the partnership represents a “bold commitment” from the telecoms giant, and one that will benefit both consumers and businesses alike.

“This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers.”

Vodafone looks to generative AI-powered services 

Cloud transformation is just one of five key areas of collaboration identified by the two companies. 

The deal will grant Vodafone access to Microsoft’s Copilot AI capabilities, allowing them to develop a range of customer-facing generative AI tools. Vodafone said it wants to improve customer service through reactive, personalized digital assistants.

Microsoft also intends to help scale M-Pesa, a fintech subsidiary of Vodafone that dominates the financial transaction market in Africa. Microsoft will host M-Pesa on Azure, while both companies will also launch a digital literacy and outreach program in the region.

As part of the deal, Microsoft also plans to “invest heavily” in Vodafone’s standalone Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity platform, which connects 175 million devices and platforms worldwide.

Vodafone will also extend its commitment to distributing Microsoft’s cloud, security, and productivity services across Europe. This keeps in line with Microsoft’s strategy to become the region's leading platform for business. 

The focus here is on small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), who will benefit from deploying Microsoft services at a slower and more adaptable pace.

Leveraging their respective strengths, Vodafone and Microsoft look to scale their digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organizations, and consumers across Europe and Africa as a result of the deal.

Vodafone and the owner of Three UK have announced formally announced plans to merge telecoms networks, in a long-awaited strategy to operate the UK’s largest mobile network.

Subject to regulatory approval, the two will form ‘MergeCo’ to serve 27 million customers and aim to serve more than 99% of the UK population at six times faster speeds by 2034.

The agreement will see Vodafone Group Plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited (CKHGT) combine without a cash consideration, with Vodafone owning 51% of the new business and CKHGT 49%.

Vodafone UK CEO Ahmed Essam will take the role of MergeCo CEO, while Three UK CFO Darren Purkis will take on the title of MergeCo CFO.

In addition to the expansion of its mobile networks, the new entity will commit to providing fixed wireless access (FWA) mobile broadband to 82% of UK households by 2030.

“The merger is great for customers, great for the country and great for competition,” said Margherita Della Valle, group chief executive at Vodafone.

“It’s transformative as it will create a best-in-class – indeed best in Europe – 5G network, offering customers a superior experience.”

Together, the two groups have committed to spend £11 billion ($14 billion) in the UK over he next decade to achieve an advanced 5G network.

“A marriage of convenience makes sense. Scale is key to help lower costs and improve margins,” said Paolo Pescatore, PP Foresight.

“It would create a mobile champion that could increase competition in the wholesale segment of the market and become a partner of choice for MVNOs.”

“Having said this, Ofcom recognizes the challenges of the UK mobile market and the need for scale. Convincing the CMA will be the real test. Current investment levels are not sustainable in the longer term.”

Talks had been underway since October 2022, in a bid to combine forces to expand connectivity across the UK.

In the merger announcement, Vodafone stated that the merger could deliver £5 billion per year to the UK economy by 2030, and generate 8,000-12,000 new jobs through the expansion of its 5G network.

What does this mean for the market?

Critics have suggested that in merging their way to 5G dominance, Vodafone and Three could drive up prices for customers.

Reduced choice of network for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), smaller providers like GiffGaff that pay larger networks to ‘piggyback’ off them, could drive up prices on a consumer or small business level.

The four large mobile network operators (MNOs) share network infrastructure to provide better connectivity overall, while still competing on a customer-by-customer basis.

Two of these agreements are currently upheld: Three and EE’s Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL), and Vodafone and O2’s Beacon.

Some critics of the deal had argued that reducing the number of large MNOs below four would negatively affect the competition in the market, as one of the remaining three MNOs would have access to both MBNL and Beacon.

This argument was used by Ofcom in 2016 when it argued against Three and O2’s proposed merger, and the deal was eventually killed by the CMA and EU Commission.

But at a Westminster eForum event in March, Ofcom’s director of mobile network strategy Brian Potterill suggested that the situation may have changed.

“​​That was then, this is now,” he said. 

“Every merger has to be judged on the merits of the merger at the time. It has been overblown that 4 vs 3 has some magic property.”

At the same event, Three UK’s general counsel and regulatory affairs director Stephen Lerner stated that Three and Vodafone’s current investment levels were not justified by their industry returns.

“Consumers are paying for duplicate investment. A combined network would have massive amounts of large free capacity that it would be incentivised to fill, and there would be a push to get that capacity out there which would drive down prices.”

“You’ll end up with a much better network experience.”

MergeCo’s commitment to FWA also puts it in the position of challenging UK broadband providers. 

BTEE and Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) were specifically named as competitors in the merger document, which also noted that Vodafone’s existing network share agreement with VMO2 will put it it in a better position to compete with BTEE in particular.

Kester Mann, director of consumer and connectivity at analyst firm CCS Insight tweeted that the announcement was an unexpected element of the merger.

Vodafone claimed that at launch, MergeCo will host the UK’s largest network range of connections over 100Mbits/sec through a combined full-fiber broadband and FWA.

Vodafone is to axe 11,000 jobs over the next three years, its most extensive redundancy measures in the company’s history.

The cuts follow worse-than-expected financial figures and will impact more than 10% of its roughly 100,000 employees worldwide.

Roles in its UK-based HQ, as well as in Germany and Italy, are expected to be affected by the layoffs, and additional roles in Spain are under review.

"Our performance has not been good enough," said CEO Margherita Della Valle.

"My priorities are customers, simplicity and growth. We will simplify our organization, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness."

The telco’s revenue has fallen across key European markets but still grew by 0.3% year on year as a result of positive outcomes in Africa and in its equipment sales.

Della Valle also stated that Vodafone has not performed well in comparison to its competitors, and linked this to worsening customer experience.

“We’re targeting a significant reduction in central functions, which we started in January - stopping shared operations activities with unproven business cases – and we will also simplify our operations in the markets,” a Vodafone spokesperson told ITPro.

In its final-year results published Tuesday, the company reported a 56% decline in unadjusted free cash flow compared to FY22, equivalent to €1.9 billion. 

It also projected that its free cash flow for the coming financial year will be “around €3.3 billion”, below analyst expectations. Shares fell 4% at market open.

Della Valle said that Vodafone Business has a strong position in Europe and can grow here, and highlighted its “world-leading” Internet of Things (IoT) expertise.

Reports earlier in the year had suggested Vodafone was seeking job cuts as part of plan to save €1 billion by 2026.

In December, former CEO Nick Read stepped down amid rocky financials leading to the appointment of then-CFO Della Valle as interim CEO.

Kester Mann, director of consumer and connectivity at CCS Insight, had told ITPro at the time that the move was “no massive surprise”, with Read falling under pressure from displeased shareholders.

Vodafone UK confirmed that it was in talks to merge with Hutchinson’s Three (Three UK) in October 2022.

The deal would reportedly see Vodafone take 51% of shares in the resulting firm, which would provide for around 27 million joint customers.

At the time, Sky News reported that the deal would close by the end of 2022.

Vodafone told ITPro that merger talks are ongoing, and that it is convinced any merger with Three would benefit its UK customers.

This article was updated to include a statement from Vodafone.

Vodafone Group is reportedly planning to axe jobs as a way to meet its goal of cutting operating costs by €1 billion (£888 million) by 2026.

The company is mulling job cuts which could affect hundreds of employees, including those based in its Paddington office in London, per the Financial Times.

Vodafone Group has experienced challenges in recent years during which time the company’s value has declined by 40% since 2018.

Former CEO Nick Read decided to step down in December 2022 after taking on the role four years earlier. He first joined the company in 2002, working for more than 20 years at the organisation.

Before he left, Read said in the company’s fiscal H1 2023 financial statement, published in November, that the organisation had a new cost-savings target of €1 billion by 2026.

The company plans to accomplish this by streamlining and simplifying the group’s structure and accelerating the digitisation of its operations.

Vodafone is yet to appoint a new CEO, but instated Margherita Della Valle, the company’s chief financial officer, as interim CEO. It also made changes to its executive committee on 12 January, with Aldo Bisio, CEO at Vodafone Italy, taking on the role of group chief commercial officer.

“We are reviewing our operating model, focusing on streamlining and simplifying the group,” Vodafone told the FT. “We will say more about the changes when we announce our third-quarter results on 1 February.”

IT Pro has contacted Vodafone Group for comment.

Prospect union, which has members at Vodafone, told IT Pro it would ensure that any members impacted by proposed job cuts are treated fairly and consistently. The company has 9,400 workers in the UK, and 104,000 globally.

As well as aiming to save costs across its business, Vodafone is also contemplating a merger with Three. If the merger succeeds, the new company’s shares would be split by 51% to Vodafone and 49% to Three.

The proposed company would have around 27 million customers in total, ranking it second to Virgin Media O2’s 32 million customers, but exceeding EE’s 26 million.

Vodafone has partnered with the French telco Altice to launch FibreCo, a joint venture which will deploy a fibre broadband network to up to seven million homes in Germany, its biggest market.

The new company intends to invest up to €7 billion (£6 billion), 70% of which is expected to be financed by debt, and will be owned 50% by Vodafone Germany and 50% by Altice. It aims to construct and operate a “fibre-to-the-home” (FTTH) broadband network over a six year period.

The British telco currently offers up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) connections to over 24 million homes in Germany. It hopes the partnership with Altice will complement its upgrade plans for its existing hybrid fibre cable network where it's aiming to provide 10 Gbps speeds in the future.

Around 80% of the roll out will focus on large housing associations in Vodafone’s existing hybrid fibre cable network footprint and the remaining 20% will be outside of the British telco’s current footprint, focusing on neighbouring homes.

FibreCo is set to offer wholesale access to all telecommunications service providers to fully exploit the potential of the infrastructure. The joint venture will benefit from Vodafone’s commercial expertise, and relationships with housing associations, and Altice’s FTTH roll-out, wholesale, and operational expertise.

“This partnership builds on Vodafone’s significant next generation network with Altice’s industrial expertise and proven Fibre-to-the-Home construction capabilities enabling us to bring gigabit connectivity to even more customers in Germany,” said Nick Read, the chief executive of the Vodafone Group. “We are proud of our long-standing relationships with housing associations and pleased as a trusted provider to bring more connectivity options for tenants.”

Additionally, FibreCo has contracted engineering and construction company Geodesia, an Altice subsidiary, for the majority roll out and construction and maintenance. The creation of the joint venture is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023 and is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval.

Vodafone is expected to receive cash proceeds from Altice of up to €1.2 billion as part of the transaction. This includes an upfront payment of €120 million at closing, additional deferred payments of up to €487 million as the roll out progresses once the first 1.5 million homes have been passed and until the end of the roll out. It will also receive an earn-out of up to €595 million based on FibreCo’s performance.

The British telco is investing in its biggest market after it suffered a drop in service revenue in Germany earlier this year. The group said in July 2022 it had lost 79,000 TV and 64,000 broadband customers in the first quarter, a 0.5% decline in service revenue in the country after a law came into effect ending automatic renewals and one of its IT systems underperformed, according to Reuters.

The company said that customer losses weren’t as bad as the previous quarter after it managed to fix its IT problems, and churn related to the new law started to decrease.

"We're on track to resolve the issues in Germany by the end of the summer as planned, which will further support a gradual recovery in our commercial performance," Read said at the time.

Google Cloud and Vodafone have today announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) platform dubbed the “AI Booster.” The fully scalable platform promises to spit improvements to customer experience, research speed and network performance.

Both companies are committed to expanding ML and AI use cases on an industrial scale, and this was the driving force behind the 18-month-long project.

Google and Vodafone say the collaboration will fuel the next generation of AI development, with Vodafone saying it can handle thousands of ML models per day. In the announcement, Vodafone credited AI Booster with an 80% reduction in time between proof of concept and production — from 5 months to 4 weeks.

AI Booster is built upon Google’s Vertex AI, which allows customers to design and deploy ML models at speed. Fully cloud-native, Vodafone promises that the platform will utilise all the benefits of its integration with Vodafone’s Neuron platform, with customers able to leverage powerful AI Booster environments simply by filling in an online form with their preferences.

Pre-trained tooling will complement custom options, with completely automated ML lifecycle compliance activities and embedded security giving customers the flexibility to deploy use cases as simple or complex as they need them to be, without fear of compromising their data.\

Google Cloud partner Datatonic has also provided reusable MLOps Turbo Templates, which allow developers to rapidly train models without running into technical debt and reducing deployment or adoption risks.

In 2019, Vodafone announced the integration of Google Cloud controls into its custom Vodafone Neuron platform, pointing to exciting opportunities the collaboration provided such as improved network optimisation, and even more detailed analytics to improve systems such as those handling commercial offers for customers.

Although ML models are still only gradually being utilised by organisations, Google is heavily invested in expanding the reach and user-friendliness of such models throughout its cloud, with recognition of the boosts to efficiency they can provide across all sectors.

“As a technology platform, we’re incredibly proud of building a cutting-edge MLOps platform based on best-in-class Google Cloud architecture with in-built automation, scalability and security,” stated Ashish Vijayvargia, Analytics Product Lead at Vodafone.

“The result is we’re delivering more value from data science while embedding reliability engineering principles throughout.”

UK mobile operators EE and Vodafone have delayed the return of the roaming charges, which were set to be reintroduced this month for those travelling to EU countries.

Abolished in EU countries in 2017, roaming charges were set to return following the Brexit agreement the UK government signed with its European counterparts.

Vodafone's roaming charges were due to come into force on 6 January 2022, however, this has now been rescheduled to “the end of January '', a Vodafone spokesperson told IT Pro.

The delay will provide “time for further testing to ensure the best possible experience for customers purchasing our £1 per day bundles,” they said, adding that, “until then, customers will continue to be able to roam without charges”.

EE, meanwhile, has postponed the return of roaming charges to March 2022, after previously planning to reinstate them from the start of January.

This is due to “technical delays”, a spokesperson told IT Pro.

The charges, which include a “new flat fee of £2 a day to use their plan’s data, minutes and texts allowance while roaming across 47 European destinations” will be introduced from 3rd March 2022.

EE customers will be able to choose to add a 30-day Roam Abroad Pass to their plan, with Essential plan customers being able to take the Pass for £10, while those on Smart or Full Works plans being able to include the same pass as part of their package.

“The small daily charge is capped, which removes any worry of returning home to a larger than expected bill,” the spokesperson added.

Three customers can expect the post-Brexit roaming charges to return on 23 May 2022. The company had previously said it wanted to retain EU roaming at no extra cost, but that this was no longer possible under current conditions.

This leaves O2 as the only major UK mobile operator that has yet to announce any new roaming fees.

“We’re committed to providing our customers with great connectivity and value when they travel outside the UK. We currently have no plans to change the ‘Roam Like at Home’ arrangements,” an O2 spokesperson previously stated.

Vodafone is set to install mobile phone masts powered only by renewable energy once trials of the technology conclude later this year.

Dubbed Eco-masts, they will be deployed in remote locations in the UK away from any connection to the electricity grid.

The masts should also improve rural connectivity by allowing new sites to be built in more remote areas, supporting industry commitments to cover 95% of the UK landmass by 2025.

Vodafone has been working alongside Crossflow Energy on the development of the latter firm’s wind turbine technology, combined with solar and battery technologies, to create a self-powered mobile network tower. Vodafone’s network partner, Cornerstone, will run a proof-of-concept mast with Crossflow’s Turbine technology on rural mobile sites.

As well as reducing Vodafone’s energy consumption, self-powered sites remove the need to connect to the electricity grid. Vodafone said this overcomes what can be an “insurmountable civil engineering challenge” when building new sites in the most rural parts of the UK.

Vodafone said that in addition to reducing the environmental impact of the site by using renewable energy, and removing the need for diesel generators for back-up power, the bird-friendly turbine makes the Eco-Tower viable for the most sensitive of sites, including Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Andrea Dona, chief network officer at Vodafone UK, said that improving rural connectivity comes with some significant challenges.

“Connecting masts to the energy grid can be a major barrier to delivering this objective, so making these sites self-sufficient is a huge step forward for us and for the mobile industry,” he said. “Our approach to managing our network as responsibly as possible is very simple: we put sustainability at the heart of every decision. There is no silver bullet to reducing energy consumption, but each of these steps forward takes us closer to achieving net zero for its UK operations by 2027.”

Martin Barnes, chief executive officer at Crossflow Energy, added that the trial was an opportunity to show how its self-powered Eco-Tower solves the problem of harnessing ‘small wind’ to offer “not just that all important carbon reduction but also significant commercial benefits”.

“In the case of Vodafone, it will help to accelerate the expansion of rural connectivity, transform energy consumption patterns and deliver significant economic and carbon savings,” said Barnes.

“Our turbine technology has equally strong applications for so many other industries, but to have such a high-profile player as Vodafone deploying our Eco-Tower is a major endorsement for us and our technology."

Vodafone has filed a lawsuit against the UK government challenging a decision to award a £184 million networking contract to rival provider Fujitsu.

It's alleged that the contract, which is to upgrade the network infrastructure of 532 British embassies around the world, was awarded unfairly, as reported by Bloomberg.

Both Vodafone and Fujitsu failed to meet minimum quality thresholds for the contract, with a London judge revealing that Vodafone’s scores were worse than Fujitsu’s, according to court filings.

The Echo 2 contract was designed to connect the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) ministers, staff, and agents in over 170 countries, as well as the country’s cultural relations arm, the British Council. The contract is set to replace the Echo 1 contract, which was awarded to Cable and Wireless, a company acquired by Vodafone in 2012 for £1.04 billion, and that has its roots in connecting the British empire to its colonies.

Vodafone has now launched legal proceedings in the courts after losing the contract it inherited following the acquisition of Cable and Wireless.

“We do not believe this procurement process has been run properly,” a Vodafone spokesperson said to Bloomberg. “The procuring authority themselves stated the Fujitsu Solution is ‘not fit for purpose.’”

The judge decided to expedite a full trial to take place in January 2022 and has allowed the government to enter into a conditional contract with Fujitsu.

Full details of the trial have been withheld by the judge for reasons of national security, who also said that the information could be useful to anyone wishing to harm the country.

The FCO has so far refused to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.

Fujitsu's relationship with the UK government has been on shaky ground historically. Famously, the company was responsible for the creation of the Horizon accounting system, built for the Post Office in 1999, which would then be used to provide evidence to convict 736 subpostmasters in fraud cases spanning 2000 and 2014. It was later revealed that an error in the system had result in financial irregularities, leading to many of these convictions being overturned after almost two decades of legal battles.

Vodafone is set to add around 7,000 software engineers to its European workforce by 2025, to meet surging demand for digital connectivity and help develop its own digital services.

The initiative will be carried out through a combination of recruitment, re-skilling existing employees, and insourcing, and is part of the company’s increased investment to meet the demand for digital connectivity, which it says has been accelerated by the pandemic and growing up to 50% every year.

Vodafone is hoping to transform into a provider of new generation connectivity and digital services at scale across Europe and Africa. The company said expanding its software capabilities will allow it to build new products and services at a lower cost and own the associated intellectual property. It hopes this will lead to cost savings of around 20%.

Through a combination of digital skills hubs and adopting leading software practices, it will be able to launch new products and services 50% faster and in multiple countries at the same time, the company added.

“Vodafone is rapidly shifting up the gears to support the dramatic digital transformation that businesses and society are undergoing,” said Johan Wibergh, chief technology officer of Vodafone. “We are building a global software brand with a diverse and inclusive culture, providing superfast connectivity and powerful digital products – however and wherever customers want to use them.”

The new intake of software engineers will complement the existing 9,000 employees already working at the company and will be placed inside the Vodafone Technology division, its new platform that unites all its European tech employees and international shared services division.

Vodafone added it will develop new Internet of Things products, smart network features, digital and IT, and cyber security services across Europe. It also expects that by 2025 over 50% of all employees in Vodafone Technology will work in software engineering.

Vodafone will charge new and upgrading customers to use its service in Europe from January 2022, making it the second UK company to reintroduce roaming charges after EE.

New customers joining Vodafone, or those upgrading or changing existing plans after 11 August, 2021, will qualify for a daily charge for using their devices in European roaming zones, unless their plan specifically includes Europe.

The charges will start on 6 January, 2022, and will cost at least £1 a day depending on the tariff. For Vodafone Pay monthly plans, roaming passes for its Europe Zone will cost £8 for 8 days, £15 for 15 days, or £2 for a single day pass.

For Unlimited or Limited Data Xtra plans, there will be no charge.

“The majority of our customers are not regular roamers. Indeed, fewer than half our customers roamed beyond the Republic of Ireland in 2019,” said Ahmed Essam, Vodafone’s CEO. “And the reality is that including roaming – a service that costs us money to provide – in every plan means more than half of our customers are paying for something that they don’t use. What’s free for one person usually has to be paid for by someone else.”

Essam added that Vodafone thinks it's fairer to give people “more choice over what they pay for”, by either opting into a price plan that includes free roaming, or paying for roaming only when they roam.

“Changing the way we offer roaming to our customers will enable us to continue investing in our network to the benefit of our customers, and in the context of the rising costs we are facing as a result of new Telecoms Security Requirements, for example,” he added. “We totally agree that the UK telecoms sector needs a new robust security framework and wholly support this, but it has to be paid for.”

In June, EE became the first UK operator to bring back roaming fees across the EU following the implementation of the Brexit trade deal. Starting on 7 July, 2021, new or upgraded contracts will be charged £2 per day to use their allowance in 47 destinations from January 2022.

A spokesperson told IT Pro that the charge would “support investment into our UK-based customer service and leading UK network”.

Vodafone will remove all equipment manufactured by Huawei from the sensitive core of its mobile networks in Europe.

Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday morning, Vodafone CEO Nick Read explained that the exclusion of Huawei products comes “as a result of the EU toolbox and the UK government’s decision”.

Last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a 35% cap on Huawei’s involvement in building the country’s 5G telecoms network, following US disapproval of using the Chinese manufacturer.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab defended the decision, saying: “The future of our digital economy depends on having that trust in safety and security,” he said. “And if we are to encourage the take-up of new technologies that will transform our lives for the better then we need to have the right measures in place."

So far, no other European nation has indicated it would introduce similar restrictions. Last week, the EU said it would allow its member states to have ultimate control over what vendors they can use in their 5G infrastructure.

Read estimated that the decision would take five years implement, costing Vodafone €200 million (£169 million).

The PM’s decision to cap Huawei’s involvement in 5G broadband infrastructure affects other telephone network providers as well – at high costs.

BT's chief executive Philip Jansen said that the company’s mobile arm, EE, will have to spend £500 million over five years to replace Huawei hardware for other manufacturers.

“The way it works at the moment is when you put a 5G box on a mast it has to be on top of a 4G box from the same supplier,” he said, according to The Guardian. “More than 35% of [our] 4G boxes are Huawei. We are going to have to take out some Huawei 4G boxes and not use them again. That is probably the single biggest cost.”

EU Commissioner for internal market Thierry Breton has previously stated that tougher security policies, such as the ones involving Huawei, would not delay the 5G rollout in Europe.

Vodafone has partnered with Google Cloud to build a big data platform as part of its digital transformation programme.

This is a customised data analytics platform called 'Vodafone Neuron' that the telecoms giant said will act as a brain and driver for AI and business intelligence for its global business.

Vodafone has been migrating its global data into Google's public cloud to create this custom platform. The hope is that it provides data performance that lets disparate data from across the organisation be aggregated into a 'data ocean' - rather than multiple data lakes.

Once this is complete, the speed with which Vodafone will be able to run queries will enable it to gain real-time insights, providing new levels of agility, scalability and cost-effectiveness, the company said.

Google Cloud tools have been integrated into the 'Neuron' platform, which is in the process of rolling out to 11 countries. The insights from Neuron are being used to support a range of applications, such as Vodafone's 'Gigabit Networks'.

"Neuron serves as the foundation for Vodafone's data ocean and the brains of our business as we transform ourselves into a digital tech company," said Simon Harris, group head of big data delivery at Vodafone.

"Not only will we be able to gain real-time analytics capabilities across Vodafone products and services, but it will also allow us to arrive at insights faster, which can then be used to offer more personalised product offerings to customers and to raise the bar on service."

The company recently announced an agreement to expand its Gigafast Broadband throughout the UK by building upon Openreach's infrastructure - namely its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network. A key part of the deal is that it's tied to Openreach's own expansion and provides the option for further expansion later on.

4G has been up and running for over eight years now, and it's since become the industry standard as consumers and businesses users alike need a high-speed connection to power their streaming, social media and remote working. While next-generation 5G connectivity is also now available, coverage remains limited and prices remain high.

All of the UK's mobile networks offer competitive 4G services and many have invested a lot of money to boost coverage to beat their rivals, how can you choose which is the best 4G mobile network for you?

There are lots of things to consider, beyond cost. Although all of the UK's major networks offer 4G services, some are more reliable and offer faster speeds than others. The other consideration is which device you want to go for as different networks also offer different phone models.

We've rounded up the best deals and benefits for each of the four major networks in the UK to see which suits your lifestyle and usage best.

(NB: these are the costs for an individual, SIM-only, 12-month contract. Business contracts and contracts with a phone can and likely will vary. Average speed results taken from www.opensignal.com. All data correct as of September 2020).

See also: What is 4G?

EE: 4G cost and reliability

EE was the first mobile operator to launch 4G services in the UK, and has long been hailed as the best network when it comes to speed, coverage and reliability. According to OpenSignal's latest Mobile Networks report, released in April 2020, this remains unchanged: EE comes out on top when it comes to download speeds, latency and 4G coverage.

According to the report, EE's 4G customers currently enjoy average download speeds of 35.9Mbps, more than 10Mbps faster than its nearest rival Vodafone. Average upload speeds come in at 9.7Mbps.

In terms of coverage, OpenSignal shows that EE's 4G serves 94.8% of the country's population, just shy of the operator's target to reach 95% coverage by the end of 2020.

EE's cheapest 4G plan starts at £20 per month, which comes with 100GB of data, unlimited minutes and texts, and guaranteed speeds of 60Mbps. The operator also offers a £23 plan that comes with 200GB of monthly data.

O2: 4G cost and reliability

O2's 4G offering has vastly improved in recent years, though it still falls behind its rivals when it comes to speeds and coverage.

According to OpenSignal data, the network currently has an average 4G download speed of 18Mbps, an improvement of less than 3Mbps since 2017, and almost half the average speeds offered by EE. It's upload speeds are also lacking, coming in at an average of 6.4Mbps. In terms of coverage, O2 currently reaches 89.2% of the UK population.

However, O2's 4G plans are cheaper than some. It's cheapest 4G SIM-only plan comes in at £10 per month, although this comes with only 5GB data. For £20 a month, this can be increased to 100GB.

Three: 4G cost and reliability

Three has long been seen as the smallest of the UK's 4G networks, and although it's services are improvement, it still falls short of rival networks.

OpenSignal's report shows that the network's average 4G speeds come in at 22.4Mbps, while customers see average upload speeds of 8.2Mbps on the company's 4G network. In terms of its availability, the network currently reaches 80% of the UK's population.

While it's struggling to compete on speeds and coverage, Three is known for offering a huge range of different packages. The company's cheapest plan costs £5 per month and comes with 1GB data, while paying £5, £10, or £18 per month increases this to 4GB, 8GB and 100GB of data, respectively. Three is also one of the only networks to offer unlimited data plans.

Vodafone: 4G cost and reliability

Vodafone's 4G network began life as a London-only service when it launched in 2013, but efforts to upgrade the network has helped position the provider as one of the UK's leading providers.

The networks offers the UK's second-fastest 4G speeds, according to OpenSignal, with average download speeds of 25.4Mbps. It also offers the second-fastest upload speeds, which come in at 9.1Mbps.

In terms of coverage, Vodafone's 4G network reaches 88% of the UK population, just 1.2% lower than rival O2.

At the time of writing, Vodafone is offering a 50% discount on its 4G SIM-only plans. That means you can pick up unlimited data for just £11 per month - although speeds will top out at 2Mbps. The network's bumper £37 plan also offers unlimited data but promises the "fastest speeds available".

Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs)

Although the companies above control their own network infrastructures, they are by no means the only choice when it comes to 4G. There are a number of companies that make use of these infrastructures to provide their own services, although 4G coverage is still tied to the controlling company.

GiffGaff

Infrastructure: O2

GiffGaff has been voted best MVNO for multiple years thanks to its flexible contracts and reward schemes for community members. Unlike traditional operators, it does not have a high-street presence and relies on its community for customer support. As it uses O2's network, users can expect average speeds of 18Mbps.

Virgin Mobile

Infrastructure: EE

Virgin Mobile is known for its incredibly low starting prices, with rollover data that allows you to carry over any unused allowance from month to month. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are also free to use on this service, so they don't eat into your monthly data. The best part is that Virgin Mobile uses EE's infrastructure, which means customers get access to the fastest 4G speeds and the best coverage.

Sky Mobile

Infrastructure: O2

Sky Mobile is the newest MVNO on the list. Its biggest selling point is the idea of 'rollover' data, where customers are able to make use of unused data from one month and add it to the next. Sky Mobile will also let you switch between tariffs each month, even if you are locked into a contract. Sky Mobile also uses O2 infrastructure, so expect average 4G speeds of 18Mbps.

Tesco Mobile

Infrastructure: O2

One of the first supermarkets to dive into the mobile provider market, Tesco Mobile offers capped services, so you don't go over your allowance, and free roaming in 31 countries. You can even earn points as you use the service, which can be linked to your Tesco Clubcard. Tesco Mobile also uses O2 infrastructure, so expect 4G speeds to reach an average of 18Mbps.

Image: Shutterstock

A week after Ofcom announced its decision to ban BT from bidding on half the frequencies available at the next spectrum auction in 2017, Three is once again campaigning to reduce BT's over dominance in the UK mobile market.

Three has been asking its customers to send letters to Ofcom to push for limits on BT and Vodafone's overall spectrum ownership.

The campaign, called "Make The Air Fair", is backed by Three, TalkTalk, CityFibre, Gamma, Relish and the Federation of Communication Services.

As part of this campaign, new advertisements with a cartoon superhero image of Ofcom CEO Sharon White started appearing on buildings around London.

Three and other mobile operators have been campaigning for a 30% cap on spectrum for months. In October, they sent an open letter to Sharon White asking for this cap to be established.

At the present moment, BT owns around 45% of the UK's usable spectrum, followed by Vodafone (28%), Three (15%) and O2 (14%).

BT's acquisition of EE at the beginning of the year made the situation worse, increasing its dominance over the UK's mobile market even further.

Last week, Ofcom said it has decided to reduce the amount of spectrum BT can acquire in the next spectrum auction, allowing the mobile operator access to the 3.4GHz spectrum, but not to the 2.3GHz.

The 3.4GHz is not immediately usable, but should be once 5G-supporting technology becomes widespread.

This decision did not satify Three and other mobile operators who own smaller amounts of spectrum. In a statement, Three's CEO Dave Dyson said: "The mobile industry is failing customers and Ofcom has showed it has no interest in addressing that. A 30% cap on total spectrum ownership and a spectrum reservation for smaller operators are the only measures that will preserve competition for the benefit of UK mobile consumers."

Ofcom has stung Vodafone with a 4.6 million fine for a "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules".

More than 10,000 pay-as-you-go customers lost out when Vodafone systems failed to transfer account credit during 'top-up' requests. Customers collectively lost 150,000 over a 17-month period.

The regulator also criticised Vodafone for failing to act quickly enough to address errors caused by switching to a new billing system. A second Ofcom investigation found the company failed to comply with customer complaint rules, as many Vodafone service agents were not briefed on what constituted a complaint.

The system for handling complaints, including prioritisation and responding in a timely manner, was also severely inefficient, according to Ofcom.

It levied a penalty of 3.7 million for failing to credit pay-as-you-go customer accounts, and an additional 925,000 fine for its poor customer service.

Vodafone has already reimbursed affected customers, and must pay the fines within 20 days.

"We have refunded or re-credited 10,442 customers out of the 10,452 affected. The average refund per customer was 14.35," said Vodafone in a press statement.

The company acknowledged the incidient was a "serious error" and teams "failed to appreciate its significance" once it was discovered. Vodafone has assured customers that it has implemented "system wide changes" to its management system, and has overhauled its escalation procedures in response to the investigation.

"This isn't the first time Ofcom have levied a fine for this type of thing, but it is certainly the largest," said Matthew Howett, regulatory analyst at research firm Ovum.

"Vodafone would have been expecting a fine, particularly given the length and breadth of the investigation. Their conciliatory tone this morning suggests they are now trying to move on from the damage and repair reputations with customers," added Howett.

Following rule changes in 2015, Ofcom has since taken a more aggressive approach to sanctions, particularly against telecommunication companies. Since the changes, the severity of the fine would be determined by the seriousness of the breach, which Howett believes is reflected in today's announcement.

"While the number of affected customers is minimal compared to the total 20 million Vodafone users in the UK, the investigation has been an unwanted headache," said David Cheetham, market analyst at XTB.

"Investors will hope that the firm can move on and look to build on a solid if not spectacular year so far which has seen the stock rise around 10%. The telecommunications company will likely be pleased to have drawn a line under the whole incident and take their medicine in the form of a sizeable fine."

The 4.6 million fine against Vodafone stands as the largest ever penalty issued by the regulator. Last year Ofcom issued a 1 million fine against mobile network EE for similarly failing to handle customer complaints, while TalkTalk and Tiscali were hit with a 3 million penalty in 2011 for breaching billing rules.

The smartphone industry is nothing if not baffling. HTC and Sony are struggling against a wave of high-quality yet cheap Chinese phones. So their response, inexplicably, is to release low-quality phones that aren't as cheap. Vodafone's missteps aren't quite as egregious. Indeed, it can produce excellent own-brand phones such as the Smart Platinum 7 but the cheaper Smart ultra 7 is not as good. In fact, it's surprisingly bad.

Given how bad Vodafone's even cheaper Smart Prime 7 turned out to be, we had hoped that this phone would at least have some tangible improvements. Our hopes were dashed.

Deja vu

We had a creeping sense of deja vu when living with the Smart ultra 7. It looks similar to the Smart Prime 7 with an attractive honeycomb texture on its plastic rear, a ridged texture on its buttons and a metal rim running around its edges. Even though the metal rim is actually plastic and phone as a whole is actually thicker than its cheaper sibling, it still feels like a well-made handset even if it looks a bit like a cheap Samsung Galaxy S5 impostor.

The home button looks as if it should be a fingerprint reader, but it isn't. The wobbly, poorly-mounted home button is the only cheap-feeling bit of construction in this otherwise good-looking smartphone.

The big 5.5in screen will please phablet fans, even if it does make this phone unwieldy to hold and use single-handed for those of us with small paws. As with the Smart Prime 7's screen though, manufacturer TCL gives with one hand and takes away with the other.

The good news is that the screen has surprisingly good contrast. Although brightness is a bit on the low side and colour accuracy is merely good rather than excellent, both are still just about good enough considering the relatively low price of this phone. Oddly though, the cheaper Smart Prime 7 had a bright screen with somewhat better colour accuracy and contrast.

The bad news is that the phone's touchscreen is frustratingly laggy and sluggish. This was most commonly seen when attempting to unlock the phone - a delay of a second or two was common in what should be an instantaneous gesture. Given that it's one you do dozens of times a day, it quickly grows from a minor inconvenience to a fist-gnawing aggravation. Such annoying touchscreen sluggishness cropped up elsewhere, albeit somewhat more intermittently, but still enough to drive us to distraction as the screen struggled to catch up with our prods and strokes.

Performance and battery life

This poor touchscreen responsiveness isn't entirely unexpected as the Smart ultra 7 comes equipped with a MediaTek MT6755 processor. MediaTek-equipped phones have a reputation for shonky touchscreen controllers, but this doesn't necessarily have to be the case. The Sony Xperia XA, which uses the same processor, was far more responsive in our experience.

Although the MT6755 is an eight core processor, which sounds impressive on paper, in practice it fell far behind other similarly priced smartphones in our benchmarks. This not only hinders the performance of today's most demanding apps, it makes the Smart ultra 7 a poor choice if you want even a small measure of future proofing.

This might be acceptable if the trade-off was for better battery life, but the Smart ultra 7 fell behind here too. It just scraped in a time of 22 hours when connected to Vodafone's 4G network and used for a range of everyday tasks (apart from gaming). Battery life when playing video on a loop was, surprisingly, better at just under ten hours which is a respectable score. This is the easiest of our battery life tests though.

Camera and Android

It's hard to tell what's slower - launching the camera app or attempting to actually take photos once the app is finally open. Attempting to capture fleeting moments or impatient children, pets or even just fast-paced presentation slides is simply out of the question.

Image quality outdoors in bright sunlight was decent with well-judged exposure and reasonable amounts of detail. Image quality in even modestly dim lighting was a mess though. Blurriness, grainy image noise and washed out colours were unavoidable.

The front-facing five megapixel camera has the unusual distinction of having its own dedicated flash. It produces photos with unflattering-looking skin tones though. Shots taken without the flash were very blurry and washed out, so it's of little use for selfies or video conferencing unless you're really desperate.

One of the Smart ultra 7's few saving graces is its relatively-clean and fuss free version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow. There are some nagging notifications for Vodafone's pre-installed apps, but at least a few of these bundled apps are useful. Once the appropriate apps on the phone are set up, you can handle calls and texts from a web browser on your PC or laptop. It's a shame that the interfaces of Vodafone's text and phone apps are so unintuitive though.

Conclusions

If you've read this far, then our conclusion won't be a surprise. Even if you're absolutely wedded to your Vodafone business contract, don't buy the Smart ultra 7. The second generation Moto E and the Xperia Z3 Compact are also available from Vodafone at similar prices and are far, far better value than this shockingly bad phone.

Verdict

Unless your Vodafone business contract is literally more important than any other consideration, don’t buy this phone. It’s not worth your aggravation.

A report by Vodafone has revealed that three-quarters of organisations think using the Internet of Things (IoT) is essential for success.

The report questioned more than a thousand companies around the world about how they view IoT technologies and how their organisations are using them. Almost half said they were using it to support their business transformation efforts, while 46 per cent said they want to develop IoT-based products in the future.

Vodafone's fourth annual IoT Barometer Report also revealed that 89 per cent of companies have increased their IoT budgets over the last year, with investment now accounting for almost a quarter of IT budgets.

Those who are investing considerable sums of money in connected technologies, including driverless cars, smart metering for gas and power and remote monitoring for homes and industry are reporting 'considerable' return on investment - more so than the previous years of Vodafone's study.

"Three-quarters of the companies we interviewed now recognise that the Internet of Things is a new industrial revolution that will change how people work and live forever," Vodafone Group IoT Director Erik Brenneis said.

"Almost half the companies surveyed across multiple countries and sectors told us they're already planning to bring connected network intelligence to millions of devices and processes over the next two years. 2016 is the year the Internet of Things entered the mainstream."

Companies embracing the IoT most were those involved in retail and transportation, although consumer electronics suppliers have upped their usage too, with more than half of companies in that sector reporting they had started using connected technologies in the last year.

Almost all of the UK's major mobile networks sell their own-brand smartphones, but previous efforts have been patchy at best. We've seen a lot of own-brand phones that have been unbalanced or just plain bad. The Vodafone Smart Platinum 7 shows that this doesn't have to be the case. Made by TCL/Alcatel, it breaks the mould in more ways than one.

Pricing and casing

Unlike most network own-brand phones, the Smart Platinum 7 isn't an aggressively cheap budget phone its costs 300 (inc VAT) on Vodafone pay as you go or 28 per month with no upfront cost on a two year Vodafone contract.

The Smart Platinum 7 may cost 300, but at least it looks the part. It's a surprisingly classy and sophisticated look phone with a metal rim around the edges and ribbed, textured buttons. Under the glass back is a subtle repeating diamond pattern that glistens attractively in the right light an aesthetically pleasing effect that our photos can't quite capture. Despite the glass back, it didn't feel as slippery in hand as the similarly built Galaxy S6.

The nano SIM tray can also hold a micro SD card, but the bigger surprise is the presence of a fingerprint reader on the back of the phone just underneath the main camera. It worked quickly and effectively, with very few false negatives. Just tapping the fingerprint reader with our registered digit was enough to speedily wake and unlock the Smart Platinum 7.

Another pleasant surprise was the front facing speakers. Although dedicated music fans are still better off with some good quality headphones or earphones, the speakers here are loud and clear enough for conference calls and Ted video clips alike. Plus, the sensibly compact speaker grills don't add too much extra height to what is an already sizeable 5.5in phablet.

Performance and battery life

Vodafone hasn't skimped on performance. While there are even faster processors in more expensive phones, the eight core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 and 3GB of RAM held their own in our benchmarks. It only fell behind when grappling with 3D graphics, which is unsurprising. Just as importantly, the responsiveness of the touchscreen was very smooth with only an occasional lag of inertia when scrolling letting the side down.

The battery is, unsurprisingly for a modern smartphone, sealed, but that shouldn't be a problem until the battery gets old and degraded enough to need replacing. It lasted over 13 hours when playing video on a loop. When connected to Vodafone's 4G network in London's West End and used for a variety of everyday tasks, with the exception of 3D gaming, it lasted a very respectable 37 hours. When doing nothing but playing MP3s and browsing the web on WiFi, it ran for nine and a half hours before depleting. In short, battery life is lengthy.

Screen and camera

The 2560x1440 pixel resolution of the screen isn't really necessary to ensure smooth, crisp text as 1080p 5.5in screens are just as good. Although the screen isn't quite as bright as displays on competing phones, it's far from dim. In any case, we're not going to complain given the high levels of colour accuracy and contrast. It's a surprisingly great screen.

On paper, the main 16 megapixel rear facing camera should be on a par with the best flagship phone cameras it has a wide f2 aperture, phase detect autofocus and big pixels on the sensor. In broad daylight, photos were sharp with plenty of detail. It struggled in dimmer conditions even a cloudy, overcast day was enough to make the resulting photos look a little under exposed.

More challenging conditions at night and in dimly lit indoor conditions revealed a lot of noise and blurriness. It's far from ideal, but at least photos don't suffer from the aggressive over-sharpening and blocky artefacts of older Android phone cameras.

Android

Android 6.0 Marshmallow comes pre-installed on the Smart Platinum 7 and, for the most part, it's surprisingly fuss-free and sticks closely to Google's original Material Design. Even Google Now is in its rightful place to the left of the first home screen.

The only exceptions to this are Vodafone's bundled apps and the periodic notifications nagging you to set them up. Some of these are of questionable utility, such as the contactless payments wallet, McAfee-powered security and bandwidth measuring apps. There are few compelling reasons to use these over the existing apps you probably use already.

More useful are the customised phone and SMS apps which allow you to take care of all your calls and texts on your PC using a web interface. These are useful whether you have restricted eyesight and dexterity, if you're a bad touchscreen typist or if you need an easier way to log communications for corporate compliance purposes.

Conclusions

The Vodafone Smart Platinum 7 is an unexpectedly good smartphone that excels in almost every way it's certainly far, far superior to its budget sibling. The catch is that the OnePlus 3 is even faster and has a better camera, yet costs only a few pounds more and is sold unlocked too. Then there's the 32GB Nexus 5X which has a superlative camera as well as speedy Android updates, albeit without a microSD slot, and which can currently be bought unlocked for as little as 226 inc VAT from Amazon.

Still, if you have a business contract with Vodafone then the Smart Platinum 7 should be high up on your shopping list.

Verdict

A surprisingly excellent own-brand phone that holds its own against big name smartphones

Own-brand smartphones from the major networks have been in the past, to put it politely, very mixed. Even when they're made by major manufacturers such as HTC, TCL or Huawei, own-brand phones have tended to be slow and shoddily made with every corner cut to meet an artificially low price.

With this history in mind, we had a deep and ominous sense of foreboding when plucking the Vodafone Smart Prime 7 out of its box. This 5in Android Marshamallow phone costs just 75 inc VAT (63 ex VAT) on pay as you go. It can also be bought with no upfront cost on a two year Vodafone contract for as little as 16 per month (although this only gets you a miniscule 250MB monthly data allowance).

Compromises have been made to keep the price so low, but they're not necessarily the ones you'd expect.

The good

As expected for such a cheap phone, the Vodafone Smart Prime 7 is made out of plastic. Even so, it's a surprisingly attractive and well-made plastic phone. Despite having a removable back cover for getting to the easily replaceable battery and micro SD slot, the Prime 7 felt surprisingly rigid and robust.

It's good-looking too. The back panel has a comely dimpled honeycomb pattern, while the power and volume buttons are made out of metal and have a ridged texture that feels pleasing under the thumb. It's also unobtrusively slender at 8mm thick.

The Prime 7 runs Android Marshmallow 6.0. Although Vodafone has included a gaggle of its own apps, you can safely ignore them if you don't want them. Remarkably, Vodafone has resisted the urge to smear its own interface overlay on top of Android. Aside from a few minor alterations such as a battery percentage display in the status bar, it's effectively stock Android with the Google Now page right where it should be - to the left of the first home screen.

Even more remarkable is that some of Vodafone's apps are actually useful. Vodafone's phone and text messaging apps let you send and receive calls and texts via a web interface on your desktop PC or laptop. This is especially useful if you're a poor touchscreen typist.

Best of all is the screen. Measuring 5in with a 720p resolution, it's very bright with unexpectedly good colour accuracy and contrast plus wide viewing angles too. We're used to seeing far darker, blurrier and smaller screens in phones at this price, so having such a high quality display at such a low price is a real achievement.

The bad

Unfortunately, some things had to go to make way for that superb looking 5in screen. One of the most obvious is storage. Just 4GB of the built-in 8GB is available for use which is not nearly enough - even a handful of apps and one music album was enough to trigger low storage warnings. A micro SD card is a must-have. Due to the way Android Marshmallow treats micro SD cards though, you'll need to make a decision.

You'll have to designate your micro SD card as either portable or adoptable storage. If you choose the latter, then it can be used for storing apps but then you'll effectively have to keep it inserted all the time. If you need to frequently swap large files with other people and don't want to rely on cloud storage, then you'll need to choose portable storage but you won't be able to store apps on a micro SD card in this mode. Given this limitation, it's a shame that not even a little more storage is built into the Prime 7.

The camera was also a stinker, but we weren't expecting much at this price. The eight megapixel rear camera captured well-exposed and detailed shots outdoors in bright sunlight, but even moderately dim conditions indoors led to washed out colours and excessive noise. Aggravatingly, focussing and then actually taking photos are both incredibly slow no matter what the lighting conditions are like. You won't want the Prime 7 as your main camera, but it's not too bad as a fall back option as long as you have the patience of a saint.

Battery life initially appeared good, with the Prime 7 managing to last just under 13 hours when playing H.264 video on a loop. However, when used for calls, GPS, photography and web browsing in central London, while connected to Vodafone's 4G network of course, it just scraped in a time of 25 hours which is merely okay.

The ugly

The biggest flaw in the Vodafone Smart Prime 7 has to be performance and responsiveness. The quad core Qualcoom Snapdragon 210 is an elderly processor and it showed in our benchmarks. Even so, it should've been good enough for basic tasks except it's hobbled by having just 1GB of RAM which made any sort of multitasking a frustratingly slow experience.

Even worse was the responsiveness of the touchscreen. The touchscreen was fist-gnawingly sluggish, with a pronounced lag between swiping the screen and having those swipes and prods recognised. It was particularly bad on even modestly complex documents and web pages. The phone even, on occasion, struggled to keep up with our typing. It's an unwelcome throwback to the bad old days of 2010 when even the fastest Android phones couldn't keep up with what were, on paper, less impressively specified iPhones.

Conclusions

Unless you're on the tightest of budgets, we can't recommend the Vodafone Smart Prime 7 in good conscience. It might be good enough as a fallback phone or for field workers who primarily need a smartphone for voice and text with only occasional internet and app use. Even then, the second gen Moto E, while not perfect itself, is far less frustrating to use and costs just 65 ex VAT SIM-free making it far better value.

Verdict

It’s not a smart idea to buy this unbalanced, subprime phone

Three has asked Ofcom to stop Vodafone and BT buying too much spectrum when the auction happens later this year.

The company's smallest mobile provider thinks it would be unfair if the two companies bought more than their fair share. After all, BT and EE together (now just one massive BT network) own almost half of the available spectrum, Vodafone owns around a third more, while Three and O2 own comparably less. Three feels it would put the company in a bad position if Ofcom allows both operators to buy up more.

"The combination of BT and EE is incredibly strong financially. It has got the financial ability to outcompete everyone in the market in how much they are willing to pay," Three chief David Dyson told the Financial Times.

"Potentially, given how much spectrum they are already sitting on, BT is incentivised to strategically bid in the next auction to restrict the other operators in the market from increasing their spectrum portfolio...That could make life difficult."

The European Commission didn't allow Three and O2 to complete its merger earlier in the year, so it could be that Three has a bee in its bonnet about that and the impact it will have on its market share.

"Three and O2 are important and effective competitors in the UK, helping to deliver innovation, investment and competitive prices over many years," the European Commission wrote in its decision.

"Competition must be sustainable, and regulation should support it. We will aim to do so through tools such as market reviews or auctions of mobile airwaves."

Seals living on Scotland's Orkney islands are to receive Internet of Things (IoT) tags as researchers try to understand why their population is in decline.

The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at the University of St Andrews is to conduct a three-year government-backed study, attaching telemetry tags to the fur at the back of the heads of several Orkney seals.

The lightweight tags will then be cast off when the seals moult, the scientists have said.

The marine tags, which are being supplied by Vodafone, use the mobile operator's latest machine-to-machine (M2M) technology to send vital information from a seal when it surfaces or beaches directly back to SMRU for analysis.

Vodafone's M2M technology has been used in new cars, heart monitors and smart meters, but this is the first time it will be used to monitor the wellbeing of marine mammals.

Harbour seals are one of two seal species that reside in the UK, and their numbers have declined by up to 90 per cent in some areas in and around the north and east coasts of Scotland, including Orkney, since the year 2000, according to SMRU.

"Over the last 15 years, many of the harbour seal populations in the Northern Isles and on the north and east coasts of Scotland have been declining," said SMRU's deputy director Dr Bernie McConnell.

"Marine data collected during this project on Orkney will help to assess the causes, management and mitigation options in relation to the harbour seals' decline and to prioritise future research directions."

Vodafone UK's corporate and external affairs director, Helen Lamprell, added: "The first mobile call was made on our network more than thirty years ago. We will now be the first company to help transmit valuable information from seals.

"This project is proof that collaborations between government, science and the private sector can work to improve better informed policy decisions on the environment. We are delighted to be able to provide Bernie and his team with access to our technology and consultancy."

Vodafone are not alone in connecting wildlife. Microsoft has also been exploring ways to use IoT to monitor and conserve wildlife.

There is also a great deal of pet tracking tags and IoT-related pet devices in the works.

Image: Flickr-CC/Jez Torrance

The personal details of 1,827 Vodafone customers were stolen by hackers last week, the company has admitted.

The hack exposed those customers' passwords and email addresses, as well as victims' bank sort codes and the last four numbers of their bank accounts, after cybercriminals broke through Vodafone's security between midnight Wednesday, 28 October and midday Thursday, 29 October.

"This incident was driven by criminals using email addresses and passwords acquired from an unknown source external to Vodafone. Vodafone's systems were not compromised or breached in any way," the telco said in a statement.

The operator informed the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Information Commissioner's Office and Ofcom of the issue on the evening of Friday, 30 October, and said it is working with the NCA to support the ongoing investigation.

Such actions have meant that only a handful of customers have been subject to any attempts by hackers to use their data for fraudulent activity on their Vodafone accounts, the company claimed.

However, while claiming its security protocols were "fundamentally effective" and no credit or debit card details were obtained in the attack, Vodafone admitted the leaked information does leave affected customers "open to fraud and might also leave them open to phishing attempts".

Compromised accounts were all blocked on Friday evening and Vodafone contacted affected customers directly over the weekend to assist them with changing their account details.

"We have already contacted the banks of affected customers to alert them to the situation and they are following established procedures in order to protect customers," the firm added.

"We would like to make clear that only the 1,827 customers, who have all been contacted, have been affected by this incident: no other customers have been affected or need to be concerned, as the security of our customers' data continues to one of our highest priorities," the firm said.

The data leak comes a week after UK broadband provider TalkTalk was hacked by criminals, leading to the theft of 1.2 million customer email and phone numbers and 21,000 bank details. In that investigation, police have so far arrested a 15-year-old in Northern Ireland and a 16-year-old in West London, as well as a 20-year-old man from Staffordshire.

Ryan Wilk, director at NuData Security, said that the Vodafone and TalkTalk breaches suggest fraudsters seem to be one step ahead of firms' security measures.

"Any company in any vertical where sensitive data is stored will be a target of hackers and criminals," he said. "While the loss of this data is an issue in and of itself, the secondary use of the stolen data should a concern to every business."

He added that thieves sell this information to aggregators, who cross-reference and compile full identities, called "fullz," on the data black market.

"This increases the value and usefulness of the stolen data and is building countless identities for the fraudsters. With the amount of data on the black market, there is no end to the potential damage the fraudsters can do using the stolen data," he claimed.

"With this level of information, fraudsters can create new bank accounts or take out loans under an actual person's name, causing problems for victims for years to come."

Mobile users may end up paying more for calls to certain premium rate numbers after mobile phone operators increased access charges to these numbers.

The call increases have come after Ofcom moved to make call prices more transparent by separating service and access charges in July this year. While the move was supposed to make things clearer for mobile users, it has had the consequence of mobile operators raising charges.

These service numbers are used by organisations for business purposes, especially for popular TV shows, such as Strictly and X Factor.

While businesses set the service charge, mobile operators set the access charge. This November sees mobile operator Three increase access charges by as much as 80 per cent with an access charge of 45p per minute for each call to a service number. This figure was previously 25p per minute.

Calls to Strictly Come Dancing currently cost 40p but will rise to 80p in November.

In August, O2 and Vodafone increased their access charges following Ofcom's new policy. At the time, the regulator said the separation of charges would benefit consumers.

An Ofcom spokeswoman said that as some prices have changed, people should "shop around for a tariff that's right for them."

"Phone providers are now offering a range of pricing options for these numbers, including per-minute access charges as low as 1p per minute," she said.

"Ofcom actively encourages organisations to use 03 numbers, which we set up to cost no more than a normal 01 or 02 number. They must also be included in a customer's inclusive minutes and discount schemes in the same way."

Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, said that since the new system was introduced by Ofcom in July, some charges have increased by 96 per cent.

"Ofcom's new system relies on people keeping an eagle eye on what they will be charged before they pick up the phone.

"The charges are meant to be more transparent than before, but with significant price hikes since the new system was introduced, consumers need to be savvy to make sure they are not left out of pocket."

Ofcom has released details of its complaints data for broadband, landline and mobile network services in Q2 2015.

The report has revealed EE's performance was the least impressive, with Ofcom receiving the most complaints about its broadband and landline services.

The company failed to make the landline switching process as easy as it should be, according to the data, while other customers complained there were too many faults and their complaints were not handled effectively, further infuriating them.

EE's broadband services also had too many faults according to 40 per cent of its customer complaints, while billing, pricing and charging generated 20 per cent of its issues.

In the mobile network stakes, Vodafone topped the table, having the most complaints out of any UK mobile carrier for the third year in a row. Customers were unhappy about the company's billing, prices and charges policies (34 per cent), complaints handling (27 per cent) and concerns about faults, service and provision (17 per cent).

O2, Tesco Mobile and Three UK all received fewer complaints than the industry average, but it wasn't such good news for Virgin Media, which saw its Ofcom complaints increase year-on-year.

"Our complaints data allow consumers to make meaningful comparisons that can be useful when looking for a new provider," Claudio Pollack, Director of Ofcom's Content and Consumer Group, said.

"While it's encouraging to see a continued decrease in the total number of complaints, there is still room for improvement. We expect providers to make customer service and complaints handling top priorities."

Three and Vodafone have purchased some of Qualcomm's L-Band spectrum to boost coverage of their respective 4G networks around the UK.

Qualcomm said the L-Band spectrum has been approved for 4G use by the EU and can be used "for Supplemental Downlink, helping mobile network operators meet the global demand for increased mobile data traffic."

Reports suggest that the two companies paid 200 million for the extra 4G bandwidth, although neither company has confirmed how much they spent on the infrastructure improvements.

Ofcom will now need to conduct a review into the proposed purchase before Vodafone takes over Qualcomm's share of the 20MHz spectrum and Three takes the remaining 20MHz. It is unlikely that either company will be able to use the spectrum until late in 2016, because their equipment and devices will need to be upgraded in order to work.

A Three spokesperson confirmed the company had bid for spectrum held by Qualcomm, but wouldn't reveal any further details until Ofcom's review has been completed and the sale granted.

Vodafone commented: "L-Band will complement Vodafone's existing low frequency 800MHz spectrum which travels further and penetrates better through walls than other higher frequency 4G signals.

"Over time, Vodafone intends to combine the spectrum with 800MHz using a new technology called 4G+, also referred to as Carrier Aggregation, to deliver theoretical peak download speeds up to three times faster than standard 4G."

Qualcom decided to sell its L-Band spectrum back in June, but it's not known if other telecoms companies bid for the spectrum.

Vodafone has re-entered the UK broadband market it exited in 2011 with a new fibre service, discounted to existing Vodafone users.

Dubbed Vodafone Connect, the service will initially be available to customers in Manchester, Berkshire and parts of Hampshire and Surrey.

Essex, Hertfordshire and Yorkshire will be covered within the next few weeks, the mobile operator said, with the service to roll out to the rest of the country in the autumn.

The fibre broadband tariffs start at 7.50 per month for existing Vodafone mobile customers (rising to 15 after the first year), a deal that offers speeds of up to 38Mbps.

An Ultrafast' option boasts speeds of up to 76Mbps and costs 10 per month, increasing to 20 after the first year.

There is also regular Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service through copper, which provides speeds of up to 17Mbps and costs just 2.50 per month for existing customers, increasing to 5 after 12 months.

Customers will also have to pay a line rental, which costs 16.99 per month and must be taken out on an 18-month agreement.

Customers will get a router that promises to improve connectivity in the home with vectoring and beam forming as well as support for 802.11ac. The router also offers a form of quality of service so that certain devices can get priority over traffic and internet access at certain times of day, labelled Boost.

Another, Beam, is supposed to strengthen the signal in a particular direction to target a certain area in the home.

Users can set up guest Wi-Fi to allow access to other people on a temporary basis, while a companion app will let customers choose when and how devices connect in the home.

"This is a really exciting move for Vodafone in the UK as we move our business into a new phase," said Jeroen Hoemcamp, Vodafone UK chief executive. "We're looking forward to bringing our consumer customers the benefits of our experience in providing fixed and mobile services, both here in the UK and elsewhere around the world."

"We are looking forward to the year ahead, including our move into offering TV services, as one which will prove to be a step-change in our customers' lives."

However, according to Ewan Taylor-Gibson, broadband expert at uSwitch.com, gimmicks such as Boost' and Beam', while innovative and fun, are unlikely to lure customers away from other providers.

"Vodafone is offering a fibre service right off the bat, throwing in a free router, slashing the price by half for the first 12 months and promoting its Easy Switching service - showing awareness that one of the biggest barriers to switching is the fear of being left without any internet at home," he said.

"But although its pricing is competitive, it's not the cheapest and for now, at least, its service is not widely available."

Over the last few years, as mobile users and businesses have slowly started to demand more and more from their devices at work and for their own personal use, there's been a shift from the previously ubiquitous 3G connectivity to the faster, more reliable, 4G.

Thus far, the UK has been slow off the mark in terms of rolling out the service to everyone, with those Kevin Bacon-fronted adverts our only clue that things were changing for a long while. Now EE has had its sole licence for 4G prised from its hands and all the major networks get to have a go.

This comes after a period of time in which, after having to bid in the government's 4G wireless spectrum auctions for a licence, only EE was given permission to provide 4G services using spare 3G spectrum. Competitors were left lagging behind for almost a year while EE carved out its place in the market with the aforementioned Kevin Bacon ads.

Now, licensees include EE, Hutchinson 3G (Three), Telefonica (O2) and Vodafone. EE, however, still has the largest 4G network due to its head start, but other operators are catching up.

Towards the end of 2014, it was reported that 4G speeds in the UK have halved as more people have signed up for the service. This puts the benefits of 4G into question should the previously significant gap between it and 3G speeds start to close.

Additional studies have, however, also claimed that average speeds for 4G are still around double those provided by 3G. In November, it was revealed that Ofcom was planning to sell-off spectrum used by the Ministry of Defence to boost available bandwidth for 4G networks.

In May 2015, Ofcom released details on plans to auction more spectrum for 4G services. However, availablility would be limited in order to future-proof networks against impending mergers. The regulator has asked potential bidders how they think it should release the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz spectrum bands.

4G is primed and ready to take over, changing the way we use our devices at work, on the go and at home, so here is our guide to everything you need to know.

How does 4G differ from 3G?

3G, launched back in 2003, has served us well and brought widespread connectivity to everyone and made it possible to be truly mobile as long as you had a phone or tablet at your disposal.

No technology is fault-free, however. The problem with 3G lay in the range of service one could expect from the third generation mobile technology. This could range from around 400Kbps to somewhere near to 4,000Kbps. 3G also has a reputation for being unreliable, with sudden drops in speed and complete outages all too common an occurrence.

There was less consistency than might have been expected and slow data speeds just aren't something most people can accept these days. The tide is changing, with 4G promising to overcome all of the issues we've had with mobile data speeds and coverage.

4G promises internet speeds that are five times faster than was possible with 3G, as well as a significantly reduced likelihood of losing your connection. To put it all into perspective, downloads take just seconds, web pages load instantly and streaming either live TV or services such as Netflix can be done without endless buffering time.

But then there is also more than one kind of 4G available to customers, with standard 4G promising speeds two and a half times faster than Ultrafast 3G and double-speed 4G speeds up to five times faster. Like with 3G before it, there's no particular standard, with what you get seemingly differing from network to network.

Throughout 2014, talk surrounding national roaming plans sparked fears that a 4G rollout would be delayed by up to two years as a result.

Why should businesses be interested?

3G has been increasingly showing its age since businesses began to rely more heavily on phones and tablets for work, whether remotely, in the office or out-of-hours. Employees no longer need to leave their work behind when they exit the door everything is at their fingertips at all times and this increased usage demands high-speed, reliable coverage wherever they go.

4G promises to be the solution, good enough to offer either primary or secondary internet connections for employees not always able to be plugged in at their desks. It would be nice if fast, reliable Wi-Fi was available to us everywhere we go, but that's just not the world we live in. Not right now, anyway.

The rise of BYOD and tablets powerful enough to potentially replace laptops has meant that we're less chained to our desks than ever. 4G wireless broadband keeps businesses connected, with more flexibility and the chance to take advantage of remote working or collaboration between teams spread across different parts of the country or even the world.

The truth is that mobile data usage has been rapidly rising for over a decade, and 4G can be seen as a necessary evolution that finally catches up to the demands of an ever-changing world. Companies in the UK are experimenting not just with the adoption of smartphones and tablets for work use, but also with cloud storage and flexible working, and this requires a boost in connectivity.

Adopting 4G is basically a way to both catch up with current technological advances and future-proof your business at the same time. As 4G becomes more widespread across the UK, firms can switch to more remote working for employees, cloud storage for backing-up documents and files and, as a result, increased productivity.

Are there any downsides to 4G?

While other networks are admittedly catching up quickly, there's still a clear leader in the 4G game EE. With a 10-month lead on the technology, the company has been able to build up its offering to include a range of advantages not even on the others' radar, but it also means that connectivity is still limited. Devices ready for 4G aren't much use if your area does not yet have coverage.

There's also a big issue with security, which is reportedly the main concern amongst consumers still considering whether or not to switch. In February 2014, the MailOnline reported from the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona that, while the majority of phones at the event were being sold with 4G in mind, the improved data speeds come at the price of greater vulnerability.

Leonid Burakovsky, senior director of strategic solutions at F5, says: "What the industry has done with 4G/LTE is taken a self-contained telephone network, secured primarily by virtue of being separate from the internet, and then bolted-on internet capabilities which were never designed to prevent eavesdropping."

The less secure protocol used for 4G means that all manner of sensitive information is essentially left more vulnerable, from passwords to bank details, and this poses a huge problem for businesses interested in utilising the technology.

"The main security problem with 4G networks is that user information can become easily available to hackers via, for instance, man-in-the-middle' attacks, and hackers can compromise new services like mobile health or mobile commerce," Burakovsky continues.

With the technology still relatively young, especially in the UK, networks are under pressure to reassure consumers of 4Gs' safety, especially in a business environment in which the sharing of potentially sensitive information is a part of day-to-day life.

EE

When Orange and T-Mobile merged to create EE (or Everything Everywhere) in October 2010, this heralded the start of the company's plans to make 4G accessible for all, and its rollout of the technology began in earnest in September 2012.

The head start has meant that EE's 4G connectivity is currently available in more than 100 towns and cities across the UK, making it the most widespread and thus the most attractive to early adopters. It also has the most 4G spectrum, with access to 800MHz, 1800MHz and 2.6GHz. This makes it seem like not just the best option for now, but also for the future as the technology evolves.

4G with EE gives users consistently great speeds and good indoor and long-range coverage. It is also the only company offering double-speed 4G LTE, with LTE-A 20 times faster than standard 3G being trialed in London's Tech City.

EE has also promised that 300Mbps 4G could be available in early 2015, with the service first being tested in Tech City and Wembley Stadium.

As of the beginning of January 2015, EE's 4G customer base had reached 7.7 million subscribers in the UK, adding 5.7 million in 2014.

The company has also continued to offer 4G to more areas of the country, investing in rural coverage and dedicating 1.5 billion in the expansion between now and 2017, for which EE has set itself the target of bringing connectivity to more than 99 per cent of the population across 90 per cent of the UK.

In February, BT made a bid to acquire EE for 12.5 billion. The combined group plans to sell a full range of services to its customer base. This could mean better 4G deals for BT Broadband customers.

The acquisition has seen calls by rival operators on BT/EE to give up some of its spectrum as part of the deal. The deal is currently being looked at by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Vodafone

Vodafone and O2 are both hot on the heels of market leaders EE, launching their 4G networks on the same day differing significantly from each other in terms of spectrum and coverage.

Vodafone has the edge, with 2.6GHz offered as well as 800MHz as well as coverage that's almost in line with EE's. Vodafone has also been careful to keep its pricing competitive, with lots of extras such as entry-level tariffs and additional data allowance included in various deals.

The company has also launched Sure Signal Premium for business use, which gives users access to its 4G network to ensure high-speed, reliable connections at all times. This is designed to boost internet in places where Wi-Fi isn't up to scratch, helping businesses to maintain productivity.

As of May 2015, Vodafone had three million 4G users in the UK and covered 71 per cent of the population.

O2

O2's 4G offering is currently quite limited. It has coverage in the majority of big UK cities, but that leaves the rest of the country with huge blind spots, but the relatively low price range keeps it in the game against its competitors.

In order to entice customers away from the presently-superior alternatives, O2 offered seductive deals such as a 27 per month O2 Refresh airtime contract with 5GB of data instead of 3GB if they signed up before the end of February 2014.

There was also the issue of the iPhone 5 having not been compatible with O2's 4G network a significant spanner in the works only overcome by the offer of an early upgrade deal for customers who purchased theirs within a certain time frame.

Last November, it was announced that TalkTalk had signed a deal with O2 to use its network over Vodafone's, expanding its 4G offering to customers.

Currently, more than five million customers of O2 have signed up to a 4G tariff. Around 68 per cent of the country has outdoor 4G coverage from O2, with the network reaching almost 500 UK towns and cities.

Three

Three was the second network to be licensed for 4G after purchasing leftover 3G bandwidth from EE, but the catch was that part of the deal meant they were actually the last of the four to actually launch a 4G service.

Launching with coverage for only four cities, it added 42 more in 2014 and has confirmed another 16 for 2015, carving out a place for its 4G network despite its absence at the start of the race. The biggest draw for consumers, however, is the offer of free 4G for customers - the only network to do so.

In December 2014, the mobile provider announced that a third of its UK customers (3.1 million) were using its 4G service, despite the late start and relatively limited availability (48 per cent of UK).

"The addition of low frequency spectrum is just one part of our plans to expand Three's coverage and bring our network to more people in more places in 2015," said Three's CEO Dave Dyson.

Where is 4G headed next?

Now that all four networks are offering 4G services to their customers, the burning question is where do we go from here?

The first things to happen, as history tells us, is that consumer confidence will rise, prices will drop and the technology will grow over the next couple of years. Previous predictions suggested 4G coverage in the UK would reach 98 per cent by the end of 2014 but, with data usage rising all of the time, will what the networks are offering be enough?

Whether it's streaming a movie from home or taking advantage of 4G at work, the demand is already threatening to overtake the reality. As such, it's easy to imagine a time when users are demanding even faster, more reliable and ever-present internet speeds.

So how long until 5G is introduced? It's taken the better part of a decade for 3G to get an upgrade, but will it take as long for the life-span of 4G to run its course?

When discussing the development of mobile data offerings for the future, Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said: "The demands for mobile data will only increase as millions more wireless devices connect to the internet and each other.

"We're looking at ways to use spectrum more efficiently and consider future releases of prime spectrum. By doing so, we can help to meet the significant demands placed on our wireless infrastructure and develop one of the world's leading digital economies."

The regulator also claimed the new spectrum could raise mobile data capacity by 25 times before 2030. This will likely help to support M2M communications and the development of the Internet of Things.

Several monumental things are happening at once right now, with the shift towards ubiquitous data coverage, the Internet of Things and wearable technology all paving the way for a future that has us more connected to each other and our surroundings than ever before.

Right now, 4G appears to be the answer, giving us much faster data speeds and a widespread internet connection that far outstrips the capabilities of 3G.

EE's head start also gives us a reliable picture of where the other three major mobile companies are headed, while also alerting us to some concerns and limitations that may become much bigger issues down the road.

Security is a big one, with the increased vulnerability a sizeable stumbling block for an otherwise attractive option for businesses looking to improve efficiency and productivity. The rising use of phones and tablets for work, cloud storage and remote working have brought about many privacy concerns, and 4G's capacity to add more could provide a significant barrier to its success for enterprise customers.

Pricing is another factor that is consistently evolving to fit with what is out there, what competitors are offering and what customers are willing to pay. Though EE was in the unique position of being able to charge a premium, the increasingly competitive offerings of Vodafone, O2 and Three make this no longer the case.

Speaking about 4G data plans, research analyst at Parks Associates, Jennifer Kent, said: "Deciphering optimal mobile data pricing schemes is an important piece of operators' monetisation efforts, and many are experimenting with their mobile data pricing plans."

The potential for 4G business use is significant, however, and fits in with many other changes in the enterprise and beyond. 4G might have struggled to gain a foothold in the UK as of yet, but it has the next few years to really prove its worth.

This article was originally published in August 2014, and has been updated numerous times and most recently on 9 June 2015.

Small businesses are lagging behind larger firm's 4G adoption rate, according to Vodafone.

Just 24 per cent of SMBs use 4G, compared to 39 per cent of larger firms, demonstrate results from a YouGov survey commissioned by the mobile operator.

Phil Mottram, Vodafone UK enterprise director, said that a combination of cost and a lack of knowledge is preventing businesses from taking advantage of the service.

"Businesses need to be ready to take advantage of the tools and technologies that can give them the competitive edge today and in the future," he said. "Now is the time for those businesses which are yet to invest in 4G to do so and to start benefitting from its full potential."

Of 1,200 respondents, 64 per cent are not currently using 4G and 41 per cent have no current plans to adopt it at all.

"While the perception of cost is still stopping businesses from taking the step towards 4G, the significant knowledge gap of what it can offer UK businesses is a challenge," Mottram added.

"Despite the growing availability and affordability of 4G devices and services, the lack of a true understanding of the benefits that the technology can bring, as revealed by this survey, is undeniably holding enterprises back from reaping the rewards of introducing 4G to their business."

However, he also acknowledged that network providers like Vodafone are partly responsible for informing customers about 4G.

"To help decision makers see the viable business case in upgrading to 4G, Vodafone is committed to helping businesses understand how 4G can benefit them based on their business functions, needs and priorities using the greater speed and capacity that 4G can provide."

The results arrived as YouTube watchers help to push 4G traffic above 3G usage for EE, the largest 4G network in the UK.

Data usage in areas such as Scotland have risen by up to 60 per cent, with 10 million now signed up to EE's 4G service, the network claimed. YouTube accounts for 67 per cent of video streaming traffic.

Vodafone is devoting 1 billion into upgrades, expanding its 4G coverage to over 500 cities and towns across the UK this year.

Vodafone has upgraded all Red Value Bundle customers to 4G plans and upped data limits to 25GB.

Customers signed up to 24-month Red Value Bundles will now benefit from a choice of entertainment options, including a Now TV Entertainment Pass, Spotify Premium or Sky Sports mobile subscriptions. Each of these extras eat into data allowances, so it makes sense for Vodafone to boost limits, although with previous bundles offering up to 20GB, the extra 5GB for power users won't make too much of a difference.

An enhanced version of Vodafone EuroTraveller, which allows customers to use their inclusive UK minutes, texts and data from a number of European countries for 3 a day, is another perk offered on Vodafone's reshuffled plans. It's not as attractive as Three's Feel at Home service, but it's better than being stung for using your phone abroad nonetheless.

Cindy Rose, consumer director at Vodafone UK, said: "Our customers told us that they wanted more data and access to our 4G network, regardless of what agreement they are on. Whether they're passionate about this season's mustsee boxsets on NOW TV, the latest tunes on Spotify Premium, or keeping up to date with all the action on Sky Sports Mobile TV, they can do thanks to our 4G network and bigger data allowances."

Vodafone's Red Value Bundles are available with data limits starting at 4GB. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is available to preorder on this plan from 44/month if you trade in an old Samsung Galaxy phone at the same time. The HTC One M9 will cost 65/month for the top bundle with 25GB data.

Rose continued: "With our new bundle structure and Fixed Price Promise, Vodafone customers have the flexibility and security to enjoy more of what they love safe in the knowledge their line rental cost will remain the same for the contract term, making Vodafone the network they can depend on."

EE has topped mobile network data speeds at both Gatwick and Heathrow airports, also appearing in the number one spot for reliability, according to tests by RootMetrics.

At Gatwick, the network obtained an all-round score of 97.2 with an upload speed of 17.85Mbps and downloads at 20.40Mbps.

Vodafone came second with an overall score of 86.5, although its speeds were considerably slower - 0.94Mbps for upload and 5.68Mbps for download. Both Three and O2 achieved 1.57Mbps upload speeds, while downloads were measured as 3.2Mbps and 2.4Mbps respectively. However, Three's overall score was higher - 80.5 versus O2's 74.

At Heathrow, scores were more similar. EE's score was pretty consistent and far ahead of rivals, at 96.7 thanks to its 18.06Mbps upload and 31.22Mbps download speeds, but Vodafone's dropped to 84.6 with uploads at 2.05Mbps and download speeds of 3.30Mbps, while Three and O2's both increased to a just over 84 because they achieved faster upload and download speeds compared to the Gatwick Airport location.

The report said: "The core components are reliability and speed. These two factors have the greatest impact on your mobile experience. At each airport, we measure how reliably and quickly each network is able to download and upload data, perform email tasks, and handle files that represent elements of a webpage or app, among others."

RootMetrics' mobile performance tests have been carried out in 56 metropolitan areas in the US, seven metros in the UK, and 20 airports in the US this year already. By the second half of this year, it plans to have tested mobile networks at 125 US metros and 16 UK stations, 50 US airports and three UK airports, 50 US states and the whole of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

EE, Three, O2, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone have all entered into a voluntary agreement that will see bills capped for mobile phones that the owner has reported stolen.

Bills incurred while a phone is lost will be capped at 100 following the agreement, and will apply to around 27 million monthly subscribers who have reported their device missing within 24 hours.

Ed Vaizey, digital economy minister, said in a statement: "By working with the mobile operators, we have secured an agreement that will provide consumers with real benefits as well as offer peace of mind."

Around 300,000 mobile phones are reported stolen in the UK every year, according to the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit.

"This agreement demonstrates our continued commitment to deliver usage safeguards and advice to our customers... This new cap builds on the safety and security advice we already give to customers and should provide additional peace of mind if their phone goes missing," an O2 spokesperson added.

Details for individual carriers were revealed with a statement issued by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). While Three has already introduced the scheme, EE will follow in "the coming weeks", Virgin Mobile in July and O2 in September. Vodafone will be the last to introduce the cap, with plans to start offering it to customers sometime this summer.

Annie Brooks, director of Virgin Mobile, said: "This cross-industry agreement simplifies things for consumers by making the treatment of fraudulent use of lost or stolen phones consistent. It remains vital that people report their phone is lost or stolen as soon as possible.

The move is part of the new Code of Practice being introduced in an effort to protect consumers from huge bills incurred for reasons such as out of bundles charges, roaming, premium rate services and in-app purchases. Providers must therefore offer more clear and transparent information.

"This announcement is a major new protection for customer and is in line with the industry's longstanding commitment to help our customers protect their mobile and its contents," said Hamish MacLeod, chair of the Mobile Broadband Group.

Ofcom wants to drop the spectrum licence fees mobile phone networks pay to deliver their services , which could see network operators paying up to 10 per cent less to the government than previously planned.

The regulator said it would launch another consultation into how to change the charges for companies using 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum, taking into account the coverage agreement the networks signed with the government to boost rural connections.

Although EE and 3 only use the 1800MHz band, while Vodafone and O2 hold licences for both the 900MHz and 1800MHz one, EE has expressed disappointment at the plans.

"While we fully support the government's work to get more coverage to more parts of UK, we're disappointed to see that Ofcom's current proposal fails to recognise the obvious costs associated with doing this, and note this could risk future network investment if not properly addressed. We'll examine the consultation more closely and respond in due course," the company said in a statement.

Ofcom has been pushing to launch such a consultation since the 4G auction in February 2013. In August it announced the fees networks pay would be increased substantially, but this has now been reduced to 223 million per year - around 10 per cent lower than previously proposed.

The regulator said in the statement the the price drop was "a reduction in the discount rate that Ofcom considers to be appropriate when converting a lump-sum value' (of the type paid by licensees when they acquire a licence in an auction) into an equivalent annual payment", and a "reduction in the assessment of the market value of the 1800 MHz band (expressed as a lump-sum value)."

Three more UK internet service providers (ISPs) have shown their support for Net Neutrality plans by signing the Broadband Stakeholder Group's (BSG) voluntary code, it has been revealed.

EE, Virgin Media and Vodafone were the last hold outs following BT, BSkyB, KCOM, giffgaff, O2, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Tesco Mobile and Three all signing the Code of Practice in support of the Open Internet. As a result, all of the UK's leading ISPs have now backed Net Neutrality.

Matthew Evans, BSG CEO, said: "Unlike some countries where net neutrality has become a controversial topic for discussion, the UK benefits from a fiercely competitive market and high levels of transparency which together offer the best assurance of an Open Internet.

"The Code now provides an even stronger and more effective foundation, whilst also allowing for an environment where new business models for internet-based services which benefit consumer choice can thrive."

The code was first launched in 2012 by the BSG and, by signing, the ISPs are agreeing to conditions that include ensuring users can access all legal content, not discriminating against content providers for commercial reasons and remaining transparent about traffic management policies.

"The Code usefully supports open access to the internet and builds on previous commitments by ISPs to provide transparent information to consumers about their traffic management policies," Chair of the Communications Consumer Panel, Jo Connell, added.

"We are delighted that EE, Virgin and Vodafone have now agreed to become signatories. The Code has gained significant interest internationally as a positive example of industry responding to a developing consumer need."

Vodafone's UK CEO Jeroen Hoencamp announced the network won't be pushing for 400Mbps mobile broadband but wants to make services more reliable instead.

Vodafone is already achieving a more stable network than its competitors because it uses low band spectrum that has been designed to penetrate buildings better, offering "great indoor coverage," according to Hoencamp.

"We could build a network just to achieve massive speeds, but the reality is that you don't currently need anything beyond 20Mbps on a mobile device," he said.

"Even for streaming video you only need a couple of megabits per second, so we think less about absolute speed and more about using that bandwidth to enable more customers to enjoy great content on the move, even in the busiest places and at the busiest times."

Hoencamp added that many of Vodafone's customers don't know or care what 4G is. They want consistency with their network rather than the ability to download films in seconds or stream content faster, he claimed.

"People tend to take technology for granted, so we need to make it seamless and easy for people to use, and worry free, so that they can forget about it," he added.

Vodafone's 4G network covers more than 50 per cent of the UK population, but boosting coverage isn't a focus for the company. Rather than speeding up its roll out of superfast mobile broadband to keep up with the likes of O2 and EE, it wants to focus efforts on building a more reliable network.

"I'd rather [roll out 4G] at the pace we're doing and get it right, than try to go faster and build a thin and flimsy network. You can have a few sites here and there, but that would give you really patchy signal. We only turn 4G on when we have built or updated enough sites.

"So instead of just having 4G in the centre of a town and saying that the whole town has 4G, we don't say it's there until it's there. It's about us being able to prove that people are happy with it," he said.

Accenture and BT are set to battle it out to win the NHS' email contract, after the health service named them as the final two suppliers under consideration.

The two-year NHSmail contract will provide a secure email service for NHS staff, and is valued at 350 million.

The two selected firms were picked from five bidders, including CSC, Vodafone and GDIT, to compete for the deal, which is expected to be announced in February 2015.

A spokesperson for the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) said: "Evaluation of bids to run the new NHSmail service is complete.

"All shortlisted suppliers from the Crown Commercial Service's Managed Email Framework provided strong bids, with two suppliers leading.

"In order to ensure the correct service is provided, BT and Accenture have been invited to participate in an extended clarification period. The other suppliers have been notified that they were unsuccessful."

The contract is due to be awarded in March next year, succeeding the organisation's current email contract with Cable and Wireless, under which staff used Microsoft Exchange 2007.

The existing contract has run since 2002, and users will be migrated onto the new NHSmail service by December 2015.

The UK's mobile operators have agreed not to go forward with national roaming plans, investing 5 billion to improve coverage in rural areas across the country currently marred by weak signal.

The introduction of national roaming laws in the UK had been proposed by the government to help eradicate the mobile notspots' that reportedly affect a fifth of the country's population.

EE, O2, Vodafone and Three have all agreed to the plans, which will see them offer better coverage to 90 per cent of the country by 2017. This will effectively halve the number of UK residents who currently experience bad signal in their area.

Culture Secretary Sajid Javid had proposed four solutions to the issue. These included national roaming, in which phones would connect to any available network when out of range of their own, as well as infrastructure sharing, reforming virtual networks and coverage obligation.

Javid said in a statement: "Too many parts of the UK regularly suffer from poor mobile coverage leaving them unable to make calls or send texts.

"Government and businesses have been clear about the importance of mobile connectivity, and improved coverage, so this legally binding agreement will give the UK the world-class mobile phone coverage it needs and deserves."

Ofcom will reportedly monitor progress of the agreement and the communications regulator may take the extra money being invested into account when deciding future licence fees.

The government previously opened the matter up to response from the industry, businesses and the public until 26 November, when a final decision had to be made.

But the UK's biggest providers didn't greet the proposals enthusiastically, citing various issues the move could bring to both their businesses and their customers.

A spokesperson from O2, who claimed that the company is spending 1.5 million per day on improving 2G, 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity, told IT Pro: "We have made our concerns over the national roaming proposals very clear and have advised the government on a range of alternative solutions to achieve the same ambition, some of which we have already embarked upon."

"National roaming is a regulatory solution that will worsen the experience people have when using their phones and undermine future investment in mobile infrastructure in the UK," they added.

A report from OpenSignal into 3G and 4G connectivity around the UK found that, though London was best for both, 4G speeds had almost halved since more users signed up for the high-speed service from their network. Three was found to have the slowest 4G coverage, while EE had the best.

Dubbing national roaming a "flawed concept" that will "deteriorate network reliability for tens of millions across the UK," a spokesperson for EE told IT Pro: "We're keenly aware there are some parts of the UK where customers still can't get adequate signal levels and, while we're already working on some significant nationwide coverage improvement plans, we also need government to work more closely with the industry to remove the barriers to efficiently building more signal in more places."

Mobile operators and the government first entered talks on how to resolve the problem of notspots in the country's rural areas in June, though no formal agreement has been reached.

Vodafone is reported to have been opposed to the national roaming plans for some time.

"As Vodafone and the other UK mobile operators have told the government directly on a number of occasions, national roaming will not provide the people of the UK with better quality voice and mobile internet coverage," the company said in a statement.

"In fact, it would make coverage and quality significantly worse from the customers' perspective, with a much higher risk of dropped calls, lower battery life and negative impact on services such as voicemail."

There is concern among operators that a move towards national roaming could discourage general infrastructure improvements and drive up costs for users.

Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch, said of the proposal: "It's encouraging that mobile blackspots are firmly on the political agenda. In this day and age, mobile signal or the lack of it really shouldn't be an issue, whether you live in the middle of the city or the middle of nowhere.

"Allowing networks to ride on the coat tails of others would remove any incentive for underperforming networks to invest in improving their existing infrastructure... Bills could rise yet again if some mobile networks try to recoup the losses through their customers."

Meanwhile, when asked for a statement regarding the national roaming plans, a spokesperson for Three simply said, "We're reviewing the consultation document."

Vodafone has admitted to struggling to secure Big Data on millions of devices, describing the issue as a "massive problem" for the firm.

The company illustrated the size of the challenge for a telecom firm during a Big Data discussion at HP Discover this week, saying it must protect 400 million customer records and 12 million emails each year.

Security product manager for Vodafone New Zealand, Gerhard Nagele, added that Vodafone must examine 500 million "events" each week.

He said: "It is a massive problem for us, for our internal data, but also for our customers' data.

"Security is something people kind of don't want to know about until something happens. We have a responsibility to protect that sort of data, it's extremely difficult."

His comments come days after Sony Pictures suffered a cyber breach that saw personal details released on tens of thousands of employees.

These details included salary information, while security experts claimed employees' healthcare details and social security numbers were also being traded on torrent sites.

Nagele pointed to the protection of data in transit and at rest on mobile devices as a major issue, adding "we're having trouble on that".

He said: "The other thing we are really struggling to secure is all these mobile devices that are out there, all the data that travels, the data that is in transit if you like, how do we protect that, and all the data that's in all of these mobile devices?

"We are really having trouble getting our heads around it."

The company had 411 million customers as of January this year worldwide, and Nagele warned there is a tension between making Vodafone services easy to use for customers and making them secure.

He said: "If you make it really, really secure it's going to be really, really difficult for the customers, so you've got to make sure it's a nice and easy user experience but [ensure that it] still gives you the highest set of security.

"How close do you want to get and how much ease of use for the end user do you want to get? You've got to keep all that in mind as well."

Alan Nance, VP of technology transformation at Philips, said during the discussion that security can become proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to Big Data, by using predictive analytics to check for unusual patterns in it.

"Security is usually a reactive thing, something has happened and we're trying to find out what happened, has it happened before, what do we need to shut down, what do we need to fix," he said.

"You work on a proactive basis, and ... eventually catch it before it happens. That will be one of the big things in security, being proactive."

Gartner predicts by 2016, 80 per cent of organisations will have failed to develop a security policy that encompasses all their data.

The analyst firm said Big Data security needs a data-centric approach, before urging CISOs to implement policies that address all company data, rather than pockets of it.

"Businesses have traditionally managed data within structured and unstructured silos, driven by inherent requirements to deploy relational database management systems, file storage systems and unstructured file shares," said Brian Lowans, principal research analyst.

"However, the advent of big data and cloud storage environments is transforming the way in which data is stored, accessed and processed, and CISOs need to develop a data-centric security approach. Unfortunately this is not common practice today, and its planning is critical to avoid uncoordinated data security policies and management."

Vodafone is facing an investigation by telecoms regulator Ofcom after a "catastrophic failure" of its systems blocked access to emergency and rescue services numbers over the weekend.

The problems first came to light on Saturday morning, with police forces and NHS services across the UK reporting issues with both the 101 and 111 non-emergency numbers.

Both numbers are offered by the emergency services as a means of seeking advice on health matters, in the case of 111, or to report less urgent matters that wouldn't require a 999 call to be logged.

Vodafone is responsible for operating both numbers, and in a statement to IT Pro put the issue down to a fault in its fixed line call routing system.

"Our engineers... worked hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and services have now been restored," the statement continued.

"We will continue to monitor the services closely and will be carrying out a full investigation into the issue. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

The problem also stopped callers to commercial services, such as the RAC, Barclays Bank and First Great Western, from getting through until service were restored later in the day.

Breakdown firm RAC told customers via social networking site Twitter that Vodafone had suffered a "catastrophic failure to its telephone equipment", which is why their calls weren't getting through.

Meanwhile, Ofcom has confirmed in a report to the BBC that it's been in contact with Vodafone to understand how the downtime occurred, and will be investigating the problems "as a matter of urgency."

TalkTalk has signed a deal with O2 that will see its MVNO use the operator's network in future instead of Vodafone's.

The move comes as TalkTalk prepares to embark on a 4G network rollout for its customers.

The firm said O2's network represented a "major step forward in our long term strategy to build a small cell and Fibre-To-The-Premise network".

The multi-year deal will allow TalkTalk to use O2's 2G, 3G and 4G services across the UK.

Furthermore, the company said the agreement means it could offer its four million customers a high-quality mobile service and enable it to build up its quad-play business over the medium term. Currently, TalkTalk has 350,000 customers using its MVNO or 9.5 per cent of its total base.

"We are pleased to be able to announce our commercial MVNO agreement with TalkTalk, which builds on our heritage of being the trusted provider for many notable MVNO, public and private sector organisations in the UK," said O2 chief executive Ronan Dunne.

"This recognition, as a leading source of essential connectivity, comes as a result of our continued and significant investment in our nationwide network. We welcome the start of what we hope will be a successful and prosperous relationship for both parties."

The move comes as rival firms bolster their quad-play efforts. Virgin Media is already well established in the field with mobile services offered through EE's network. BT and Sky are also separately thought to be in the advanced stages of rolling out mobile networks as part of a quad play deal.

Dido Harding, chief executive of TalkTalk said the deal was a "significant development for TalkTalk, building on our success in mobile to date".

"We are ideally placed to benefit from the market shift to quad-play, with a sizeable and growing number of customers already choosing to take mobile from us. We see real opportunities in both the near term and further out, to work with Telefnica UK to further accelerate our quad-play growth," she added.

4G speeds beat 3G speeds in the UK by more than double, an Ofcom report has found, despite previous reports indicating that performance of the high-speed data service had fallen.

The study, which looked at results from over 200,000 smartphone tests in five UK cities conducted between March and June, revealed an average 4G speed of 15.1Mbps compared to the average 3G speed of 6.1Mbps.

They said: "Our results show that, on average, UK 4G networks perform much better than 3G networks. These differences are consistent across all mobile operators, and we would expect consumers to notice material differences in the performance of mobile broadband when using any 4G network compared to a 3G network."

A recent report from OpenSignal and Which? claimed that 4G speeds in the UK had actually almost halved in the last year, owing to the increasing demand on networks from new users. The study recorded average download speeds of 19Mbps in August 2014, compared to 10.16 Mbps recorded in September 2013.

Both studies found disparity between the services offered by the various UK networks, with EE offering the best 4G speeds at 18.4Mbps, according to Ofcom. O2 followed with 15.6Mbps, and Vodafone averaged at 14.3Mbps. Three came last with average speeds of just 10.7Mbps.

"Our intention in this research was to help consumers understand the differences in performance between 4G and 3G mobile services," Ofcom said. "This kind of research is designed to support consumers in choosing a mobile service that best suits their needs."

Average 4G speedshave almost halved over the last year, as more and more people sign up for the high-speed data service.

End users have rushed to sign up to 4G deals with their operators after being promised up to 10 times faster speeds, but the number of people now using the service has meant that speeds have significantly decreased.

According to a study by OpenSignal in association with Which?, whereby 39,294 phone users on EE, O2, Three and Vodafone were surveyed, the average download speed for 4G in August 2014 was 10.16 Mbps, which compares to 19 Mbps recorded in September of the previous year.

This suggests the gap between 4G and 3G speeds have started to close, despite customers paying premium prices for faster connections and widespread coverage.

Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: "We've looked at consumers' real-life experiences and found big differences in service between mobile phone providers, depending on where you live or work. We're calling providers to publish the reliability and speeds their networks actually achieve so people can make an informed choice before signing on the dotted line.

"We also support the Government's action on mobile roaming to rid the country of unnecessary notspots', so that a lost mobile phone signal becomes a thing of the past," he added.

Improvements to and theexpansion of 4G across the country hasn't been able to keep up with increasing demand, which has meant 4G hasn't maintained the high speeds original promised to customers.

There is also a disparity between 4G in different parts of the country, with London the strongest and Wales the weakest in terms of both 3G and 4G coverage. Vodafone customers have the best 4G speeds, while those on Three have the worst. Three also came last for coverage, with EE offering the most 4G across the UK.

Samuel Johnston, head of marketing at OpenSignal, said: "We hope this report can draw better attention to the current state of mobile network coverage in the UK, and help consumers better understand how the networks differ in terms of speed and real-world coverage."

Inside the enterprise: Businesses have long been frustrated by the sometimes patchy coverage of mobile phone networks.

For companies providing national services, being able to communicate wherever they are is vital. Over the last few years, workers operating away from the office have come to rely heavily on cellular technologies.

But gaps in mobile coverage or "notspots" persist, and not just in rural areas. One solution being put forward by the government is to allow domestic roaming between networks. If a phone can't find a signal on its own network, it will roam on to another. A further suggested solution is to encourage more sharing of transmitter sites, by the mobile companies.

National roaming is a facility that is already open to tourists and visitors to the UK, as Culture Secretary Sajid Javid told BBC Radio 5 Live this week. And it does seem strange that visitors, potentially, have access to a better signal than UK-based businesses or consumers.

It is also used in other markets, notably the US, where cellphone users can roam on to the country's smaller domestic networks. But the coverage map, and charging model, for the US cellphone networks is different to that of the European ones.

Here, though, the mobile networks are less than keen on national roaming, suggesting it will not solve the issue of coverage blackspots. It could, the operators say, even worsen the user experience, giving less reliable signals and reduce phones' battery life. The networks would prefer other solutions, such as making it easier to put up new masts.

Businesses are likely to grasp at any changes that will improve coverage. "On the face of it, it seems like a good idea, after all, why should an SMB care who connects its devices to the network?", says Rob Bamforth, an analyst at market watcher Quocirca.

In practice national roaming has some real limitations. As proposed, roaming will not cover data, just 2G voice calls. Whilst improving voice coverage will be welcomed, businesses increasingly depend on data services.

National roaming, according to Matthew Howett, practice leader for regulation at IT analyst house Ovum, could even make data services less reliable, or lock users out of them altogether. "What needs to happen is for the mobile operators to work with government to come up with an agreeable fix that addresses not only poor voice coverage, but also data too," he says.

Forcing networks to allow 2G voice roaming is at best a temporary solution, experts suggest. Instead, it might make more sense for the networks to focus on boosting their infrastructure, or adding more coverage in the 800MHz spectrum, which works well in more rural areas.

Or, as Quocirca's Bamforth suggests, operators, and business users, should be thinking more of "wireless extending the fixed network, rather than replacing it". Small cells and femto cells, some operated by networks, some by businesses and communities, could be part of the answer.

"A lot of the focus of mobile operators has been fixed mobile substitution to get you off a landline onto an independent mobile via its own network," he says.

Integrating fixed and mobile networks could well be the answer to coverage issues, and it could improve the business case of rural broadband connections too.

Stephen Pritchard is a contributing editor at IT Pro.

Mobile networks in the UK will be faced with new national roaming laws this week, as plans to allow end users to switch between networks in rural areas or notspots' will be announced.

The new legislation will be outlined by Culture Secretary Sajid Javid, reports The Sunday Times, with EE, O2, Three and Vodafone to be affected by the move. After the law is pushed through, the operators will have to share network resources in rural areas where coverage is notoriously hit and miss.

Customers will then automatically be able to connect to whichever network signal is the strongest where they are, effectively making notspots a thing of the past.

Networks, however, have opposed plans, citing that such a move would negatively impact their ability to improve infrastructure in rural areas as well as force them to increase prices when profits start to suffer.

Operators were given a chance to find an alternative solution to the UK's coverage problem, but their failure to do so has meant that Javid's plans may indeed come into effect.

The paper quotes an unknown source as saying: "We're keen on a national roaming plan. We've talked to the mobile phone networks and told them to come up with a plan. The secretary of state is pretty frustrated that they have failed to do so.

"We've given them numerous opportunities to find a solution. The lack of movement from the mobile phone operators means we now need a legislative option to deal with the issue of partial notspots."

IT Pro first reported on the story in June, when UK mobile operators and the government first entered talks on how to improve coverage across the nation. The initiative was outright rejected in September due to logistical reasons.

At the time a spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: "The government has made clear it wants to ensure the UK has world-class mobile phone coverage as part of our investment in infrastructure for the long-term economic plan... of course we want to look at what more can be done in areas with poor coverage."

O2, EE and Vodafone have teamed up with mobile payments firm Boku to enable customers to pay for goods using their phones.

Boku's e-Money service could eventually extend to other operators. The service will allow customers to make purchases of any type of product or services. Users only need to enter their mobile number at a merchant's storefront to pay for physical goods.

Until now, the European Union's (EU's) Payment Services Directive (PSD) restricted what goods, including ringtones, music downloads and ebooks, could be bought and then billed to a mobile phone user's bill.

According to Boku chief executive Jon Prideaux, the framework was holding back the market for mobile operators and merchants.

"Up to now buying stuff and charging it to your phone bill has been restricted, limited to digital goods and operating in a regulatory framework designed years ago to handle ringtone downloads," he said.

"We are now entering a new era for carrier billing. Boku has re-invented carrier billing as a mainstream payment method.

"As an authorised e-money issuer, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Boku enables consumers to make purchases quickly and simply," he added.

"Merchants who allow their customers to charge things to their phone bill sell more. Mobile Network Operators can offer an improved experience to their subscribers, with Boku bearing responsibility for the entire compliance envelope."

Boku currently works with firms such as Facebook, EA and Spotify and partners selling magazines and bus tickets have already signed up to use the Boku e-Money service.

Vodafone has announced a partnership with the Dresden University of Technology to research and develop 5G technology.

The operator is already working with the University of Surrey, Kings College London and Carnegie Mellon University as part of its global programme to research the next generation of wireless technologies.

The mobile operator and university are looking to bring together academics, developers and technology companies to explore the capabilities of 5G and establish technical guidelines for its development.

The university has thrown the doors open on a new 5G lab, which sports facilities such as network hardware and software, chipsets, spectrum and cloud computing infrastructure.

The firm said researchers would look for ways that 5G would help boost speeds while decreasing latency as well as substantially increasing the number of devices that can simultaneously connect to a network, allowing greater spectral efficiency and expanding the reach of ultra-fast mobile networks.

"Today, mobile communications is all about moving content from one place to another. Tomorrow it will be about being able to control a vast array of objects in real-time with little human intervention. To get there we need to rethink wireless communications, particularly with regard to data rates, latency and IP services," said Professor Gerhard Fettweis, the Vodafone chair of mobile communications systems at the Dresden University of Technology.

He added that, in working with Vodafone and other partners, the university "is well positioned to lead a cross-industry effort to find answers to some of these challenging questions".

Luke Ibbetson, Vodafone's head of research and development, said 5G is in the very early stages of development but is important to invest the time and effort to really understand the technology.

"There are several years of research ahead of us and Vodafone looks forward to working closely with Dresden and its other partners around the world to build a technical foundation for the next generation of mobile communications," he said.

Mobile operator EE has agreed to buy 58 high street stores from troubled Phones 4u for 2.5 million and rebrand them.

The deal has been confirmed by PwC, who said it should save around 359 jobs at the firm, which was plunged into administration last week after EE announced plans to sever ties with the brand.

PwC was appointed to oversee the firm's administration, and since then has been looking to secure jobs for as many of the 5,596 Phones 4u employees hit by its downturn in fortunes as possible.

Although EE will acquire the leasehold properties and their fixtures and fittings, the inventory of devices held by those stores will not pass to it.

Instead, this will be used to raise funds by PwC as part of the administration process.

On Friday afternoon, PwC announced that 628 of the people employed by Phones 4u at its head office in Newcastle Under Lyme would be made redundant, while a further 400 would be retained to assist it with its administrative duties.

In a statement, released on Friday afternoon, Rob Hunt, joint administrator at PwC, said the decision to lay off the staff was made with "great sadness".

"We will make every effort to help the affected staff, working with the Phones 4u HR team over the coming days to support employees," he said.

"This has been a difficult week for all staff and we want to express our sincere thanks to everyone at Phones 4u who has assisted us."

Around the same time, PwC also revealed that Vodafone had agreed to take on and rebrand 140 Phones 4u stores, resulting in a further 887 jobs being saved.

Meanwhile, Phones 4u rival Dixons Carphone said it hopes to offer jobs to those working in Phones 4u outlets inside its Currys and PC World stores.

Vodafone, like EE, set out plans at the start of the month to withdraw its products from sale through Phones 4u from February 2015, citing a review of its distribution strategy.

This followed similar decisions by O2 and Three, leaving EE and Virgin Mobile as the only major brands the company could stock.

That was until last week, when EE said it was not planning to renew its contract with the retailer when it expires on 30 September 2015.

Several phone networks have expressed an interest in purchasing the Phones 4u shops and handset stocks, after the company fell into administration earlier this week.

As reported by IT Pro, following Vodafone and EE's decision not to renew their resale contracts with the retailer, the fate of the company's 5,596 employees and 550 stores across the UK was thrown into question.

It has been reported by The Guardian that layoffs will begin from tomorrow, 18 September.

In a phone call with bondholders, the Financial Times (via The Guardian) reports, it was revealed that Vodafone and EE may be considering a move to buy some of the stores, despite their decision to stop selling through the company widely being blamed for its downturn.

A spokesperson for Vodafone told the FT: "We can confirm that we have been approached by the administrators of the Phones 4u business. We will not be commentating on the detail of those discussions."

This comes after the news that Dixons Carphone is hoping to offer jobs to a number of Phones 4u staff.

The company's website has been taken offline in the wake of these developments, and the next step for Phones 4u as a company, their stores across the country and their 5,000+ staff is reportedly being discussed.

In the statement from chief executive David Kassler released over the weekend said: "Today is a very sad day for our customers and our staff. If the mobile network operators decline to supply us, we do not have a business. A good company making profits of over 100 million, employing thousands of decent people has been forced into administration."