EE is fighting to reassure disgruntled potential customers, following news that the UK's first 4G service will come with caps on how much data you can use.
Taking to Twitter, EE said, "We've had tons of comments over the last 24 hours, some would make our mothers blush." In a colourful image attached to the tweet, the nascent network goes on to plead, "Doing something on 4GEE won't use any more data than doing the same thing on 3G, there's just less waiting."
In other words, those worried about burning through their data allowance in no time flat can rest easy, because using 4G doesn't actually consume any more data, it just means tasks you would have performed anyway (downloading songs, loading web pages) happen with less delay.
That's true, but I'm not sure it cuts to the heart of people's complaints about the tariffs. The most expensive tariff gets you 8GB of data for the whole month, and the cheapest option -- a still-pricey £36 per month -- nets you a paltry 500MB per month. That's not very much for a service that's all about data.
If you go over your data limit, you'll need to pay bite-sized amounts to get more speedy data. £3 gets you 50MB, and £6 gets you 500MB.
One keen tweeter pointed out moments after EE's own message that because people can load things on their phones faster, they'll likely use their phone for more things, which will burn through data.
You can read EE's prices in full here -- once you're clued up be sure to offer your opinion in the comments below or on our Facebook wall.
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Comments 33
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anonymous 24 October, 2012 17:46
We still want an unlimited option for a good price? And if your streaming a hd movie 500mb just isn't enough for the price their asking, I for one will be leaving orange (EE) once my contract is up to shop around for an unlimited data package cheaper than what these rip off merchants are asking for.
anonymous 24 October, 2012 18:01
I still do not know why 4g is so costly. 4G network is actually cheaper to run than 3G yet the greedy Fat Cats are deliberately trying to drench as much money out of us the poor consumers!
anonymous 24 October, 2012 18:17
Ok, but you don`t need that kind of speed for downloading small files. 4G with the cap is pointless. It is more like to buy super-car and using it only for school-run on the road with 20mph limit.
damien2501 24 October, 2012 18:36
Giffgaff 3G unlimited data no fair usage or cap £10 soon to be £12 a month. Speedy enough and unlimited. There are plenty of other deals about with other companies. Why go for 4g for a rip off price and just get 500mb? Ud have to be a moron. NN nothing nowhere, that's who's gonna be using 4g
Ryan Simmons 24 October, 2012 18:42
EE are just a joke right now. Yeah, it doesn't use more data for the same things...no one ever said it did. The complaint is about the pricing and the pathetic data allowances. Like the twitter guy said, a faster connection will mean you're able to do more things in the same time (and perhaps use it for things that 3G wasn't good enough for).
anonymous 24 October, 2012 19:24
The main attraction for me personally is streaming youtube in HD. I Stream Youtube over 3G at SD and that eats through 300mb after an hour! So surely HD streaming is going to eat that data faster than a fat man eats cake. Hopefully when three release their 4G data plans next year they will have that all you can eat for a reasonable price. Shame on you EE.
BIGPADDY 24 October, 2012 19:58
Just use GiffGaff there probably the cheapest for unlimited data any way either if it going to be £12 a month. You also receive unlimited text what a good deal :3
Or Three BUT I PREFER GIFFGAFF :D
anonymous 24 October, 2012 20:41
Only a fool will believe EE it won't change your data usage my ass..
CaptainPicard 24 October, 2012 21:22
EE are a joke, I regret joining Orange, and I miss GiffGaff. I wish GG would sell contract phones. It would also be interesting to know what GG plans are for 4G.
anonymous 24 October, 2012 21:25
I can use over 20GB of data a month on my phone, even the 8GB (£56) will cost me loads every month let's work those out.
Yep £144 of add-ons, add that to the tariff price and look £200 to use 4g as its supposed to be used that's a month.
And EE can justify this how????
anonymous 24 October, 2012 21:34
I knew it !! Data caps should be looked into by the government. It's just an excuse to charge more money. What use is high speed data if you can't use it ?
This is 2012. Everything on the net uses high bandwidth. 8GB is nothing these days.
anonymous 24 October, 2012 21:51
I recently upgraded from iPhone 3g to iPhone 5. My data usage on the old iPhone was less than 200mb per month, because the phone and O2's 3G service were too slow to do much other than read websites. My iPhone 5 is on three and have achieved speeds of upto 7mbps on their 3G hsdpa+ service. The speed has completely transformed my mobile habits - streaming video and audio on my train commute for example. I'm on track for using around 5gb in the first 4 weeks of owning the new phone. Even then signal is patchy and slow sometimes so it's not hard to imagine that with a reliable 4G service my habits would change even more and I'd chew through even more data. There is no way I'd consider switching to EE at the moment - I'm paying only £9.90 per month to three for unlimited data on a sim only plan.
anonymous 24 October, 2012 23:14
EE are turning into a laughing stock. i hope they dont have any customers at launch . and three destroys them with proper 4G
anonymous 24 October, 2012 23:51
It's more like having a Ferrari, but only being able to pop down to the shops and back!
Cat San 25 October, 2012 00:02
It's just so much of a joke it's not funny. I bet their adverts will show someone streaming a HD movie to a handset on the go. But I bet they won't show the fact that after less than 15mins the 500mb allowance would be used up.
Negatred 25 October, 2012 00:03
I'm so glad everyone everywhere is moaning..... I have been well upset at pathetic data caps for a while. As if we are ridiculously stupid and can't see it's simply to suck more £'s out of us. I ordered GG SIM last week simply for my commute.....
anonymous 25 October, 2012 01:55
technically EE is right, if you use data the same way you did with 3G , then the only difference will be how long you have to wait for your data to be utilised, rather than how much.
but practically speaking , people will be using a lot more data because of all the spare time gained from not waiting so long.
its like having a really really fast car, instead of taking the bendy short cuts on your way to work, you take the longer and further away roads to really make the most out of the speed.
anonymous 25 October, 2012 08:37
"technically EE is right, if you use data the same way you did with 3G"
Right about what? What they dont tell you in there own figures with 500 MB usage is the fact most of there plans are sold with 500MB so people would get billed like mad otherwise.
and i dont believe people use 1GB on an unlimited plan. thats PR
anonymous 25 October, 2012 08:52
This is what happens when one company is allowed to launch a service ahead of the rest of the market. I'm sure EE's tariffs will suddenly either get cheaper or have better data allowances once the other networks have been allowed to launch 4G.
Well done OFCOM!
Leszcz 25 October, 2012 09:47
Lol CaptainPicard, gift gaff have got no plans for 4G till orange and other proper networks will build their masts and let giff gaff use them!
Leszcz 25 October, 2012 09:52
And my guess is that unfortunately if people start buying those expensive 4G contracts from EE, it will encourage other networks to charge approximately the same.
From what I understand all the carriers will together try to keep the costs of those contracts as high as possible.
Alimus 25 October, 2012 10:10
It's understandable that contract prices will be high to start with as they have to re-coup the money from the ~£1bn that it's cost them to put the infrastructure in place. As with 3G and WAP before it, as the market matures and there is more competition prices will come down; can you imagine having unlimited internet on a sim only deal for £10 a month 5 years ago, not a bloody chance!
If anything I'm glad that OFCOM did give EE the go ahead to use their spare bandwidth, although on the surface it looks like they're giving them a monopoly, it is only short term, and it's preferable to the alternative which would be to let the operators string out the auction as long as possible to maximise their profits on their existing 3G networks.
The sooner then networks go up, the sooner the prices will come down and unlimited offerings will start to appear.
Also @ Leszcz GiffGaff operates on O2s network so has nothing to do with Orange. Also I don't see any reason to deride them for not being a 'proper' network, they offer a quality product at a very competitive price, if anything that's to be applauded.
anonymous 25 October, 2012 10:29
EE are all about greed. 4G with those data restrictions is useless and a waste of time and money. Consumers want to be able to enjoy their Samsung Galaxy S3 or iPhone 5 and use them as they were intended to be used. EE are obviously NOT in business to create a good user experience - rather just rip them off!
Give customers an unlimited data option at a reasonable price. Back to the drawing board EE.
anonymous 25 October, 2012 12:43
@Leszcz 25 October, 2012 09:47
Lol CaptainPicard, gift gaff have got no plans for 4G till orange and other proper networks will build their masts and let giff gaff use them!
@Alimus 25 October, 2012 10:10
Leszcz GiffGaff operates on O2s network so has nothing to do with Orange.
GiffGaff not only uses the O2 network, it’s completely owned by O2, being another one of their brands.
anonymous 25 October, 2012 12:59
The networks are having to pay the UK government hundreds of millions of ££'s for the 4G licences.
They have to pay it back somehow, so don't expect much cheaper 4G when the other network providers launch their services.
It was the same with the 3G licence. The UK government got a £22 million + bonanza from the licence auction.
The mobile industry talks openly about trying to increase yields from average customers. They are trying to get us up to an average of £60pm spending and closer to £100pm in due course.
anonymous 26 October, 2012 12:23
just do unlimited data
anonymous 27 October, 2012 12:14
This is cheap compared to other countries and they have to pay for UK wide mast upgrades some how.
Three might a little more competitive at launch but as they are using basically the same network (look it up) I can't imagine it's going to hugely different price wise.
anonymous 28 October, 2012 20:51
I think I'll sit back and give 4G a miss for now. It's far too expensive and I can't see it getting any cheaper until they start selling bulk capacity on to the virtual networks, like Virgin and Tesco etc.
LTE isn't proper 4G anyway, as it's only a halfway house (4G lite if you will).
It'll have only 5 or 6 years life anyway before the next generation 5G appears on the horizon.
anonymous 4 November, 2012 11:43
"It's understandable that contract prices will be high to start with as they have to re-coup the money from the ~£1bn that it's cost them to put the infrastructure in place. " -- Allimus
I understand there are financial risks involved (for example - not acquiring big enough user base because of their price plans) but we are talking about a telco which makes hundreds of billions per year from their existing services. And now you are telling me - they have to rip off everyone everywhere (ROEE™) because for once, they actually had to invest back some of that pile of money they're taking from us? Sorry but I don't believe in tooth fairies anymore and certainly not in rich magnates' point of view.
They have the money, they have the know-how and certainly they *had* the opportunity to win the market. What they actually did (and keep doing) I guess is more of a PR stunt to bring peoples' attention to their new (EE) brand and make a statement that they are in the forefront of the technology. Which obviously is not the case. If EE was a technology wise corporation (and marketing smart for that matter), they'd NEVER admit (and allow to happen) they were "forced" to cap the data usage and create their 4G pricing for early adopters' niche. Because for me, any network that complains about and punishes customers for using lots of data - is actually admitting their infrastructure is badly planned (with oversold capacity) and they are not able/willing to improve it. These congestion/costs arguments used to be valid 10-15 years ago when networking equipment was expensive, there were no fiber-optic backbone structures and only a handful of people were using smart phones. Not anymore...
I'd love to see one day Porsche selling their 911's with 10L petrol tanks for a similar reason (i.e. people making too big mileage) and what would that do to their image :)
Pav
anonymous 13 November, 2012 23:12
My two cents worth...
While I agree 500 Mb on a 36 ukp tariff seems a little miserly overall I think the EE plans are fair. It is only natural to expect to pay a premium to be one of the first customers to enjoy 4G data speeds. What most people don't seem to appreciate is that Everything Everywhere, the company behind Tmobile, Orange and now EE, is investing 1.4 million pounds into the network every day. This is part of a multi billion pound long term development plan that started more than a year ago. It has created the UKs biggest 3G network and invested heavily into developing the first 4G Network using existing 1800 Mhz spectrum. Although the company is using existing spectrum it has to update its masts with new technology (from Huawei) to carry the 4G signal.
If it weren't for the efforts of EE in completing research, development, investment, lobbying and promoting 4G; the UK likely wouldn't have seen 4G for another year. Even if Ofcom had brought forward the 4G spectrum auction the UKs other networks haven't developed the infrastructure to support 4G yet. EE has put in the work and investment so why shouldn't it reap the reward of having the UKs first 4G customers? It is not just about making money for a mobile phone company. Setting up 4G in the UK is a plus for the UK economy and businesses; creating new jobs and stimulating GDP. This is why the prime minister and Ofcom director requested competing networks cease legal challenges against EEs rollout of 4G.
Regarding data allowance caps I think this helps ensure fair access to 4G, keeping the speed high for everyone. The plans include access to BT Wi-Fi, VOIP and tethering which some providers charge extra for. If people use Wifi when at home and in a BT hot spot they can reserve their 4G data for when they're out of wifi range. Also the higher plans come with an inclusive changeable add on, such as Deezer music service or access to mobile TV. New customers can enjoy EE Film as a promotional freebie till early next year and get a discount on fibre optic broadband. There are also roaming plans for 5 ukp extra a month meaning unlimited roaming calls and texts in Europe and selected countries. Best roaming offer I've ever heard of.
Some people have commented that EE is all about greed or that they want the consumer to have a poor experience. I couldn't disagree more. Sure, all the phone companies are in it to make money but they all understand that is dependent upon offering and delivering a good service. EE is the first 4G UK network built on the UKs biggest 3G network. The company wants to deliver the best customer service (UK based call Centres) and has put together some great propositions - EE Film, Clone Phone, add ons, Fibre Optic broadband, roaming plans etc. EE is also changing the way its rebranded stores are setup to do business; changing the focus away from commission based sales to an emphasis on service. Customers won't be referred to the call centres all the time. It'll take time for the changes to take effect but it is a huge positive. Likewise the new brand is setup to avoid things like bill shock, no more nasty surprises for data or roaming charges; people will know exactly what they're spending.
I can understand the data limits are an issue for some people but understand the companys reasons for doing it and cannot disagree with their explanation. Though you can expect a lot of people to use more data if their data speed increases, it is not a certainty. Myself I mainly use data for browsing and email and faster data will not mean I do more of this.
Anyway, I just wanted to balance out some of the negative comments and give a fuller picture of what EE is offering. It's a changeable industry and 4G hasn't even been in the UK for a month yet. The important thing is that 4G is here and it can only get better as things develop.
anonymous 11 December, 2012 17:04
Well one option would be to join Virgin mobile, who do true unlimited data packages, as they get the EE network..
I'm on £41 pcm for 2500 mins, unltd txts, unltd virgin and landline calls, unltd data and I get their insurance along with it and a shiny new galaxy note 2... not bad I think, altough there is a 99 charge fopr the handset, but that'll be coming down after Xmas, probably.
anonymous 14 January, 2013 09:35
4G does eat all your data!!!
I recently purchased a 4G phone through EE, I’m not a high internet user at all I don't stream videos or songs, I don’t use Facebook constantly, I don’t download lots of apps or games either, I browse Google and do some ebay’ing occasionally so I would say I’m a low internet user.
I’ve always had 500mb on my old phone and recently have gone up to 600 this was mainly due to Christmas shopping and organising events so I was using the internet a lot in November and December.
So when buying the 4G phone I had 1GB data with it and would pay £41 a month for it, I’ve gone back to my standard usage since I’ve had the phone all be it the internet is superfast and has been great UNTIL 10 days after I’ve had the phone I had a text at 9.33am saying I was up to 80% usage of my data I was shocked and thought it can’t be right, the phone was doing an update at the time this was a general update so I thought let this finish and then I’ll see what’s going on….. at 9.52am I had a text from EE again to say I had now reached all my data usage.
Of cause I can’t put into exact words on here of what I thought of 4G and EE!
I called EE and the person I spoke to said that he didn’t think it was right and even went to see if my data of 1GB had been allocated correctly - it had! He then went on to say he sees it as if I’m using 2mb of data on 3G it would be the same amount of data on 4G which makes sense however after speaking to his colleague he came back to tell me because of the speed of 4G it uses a lot more data that 3G!! I was never advised about this when they sold me the phone.
Of course I’m not happy with this I now have no internet at all and I am returning the phone with a full refund and I will be writing a complaint to EE / orange and possibly watchdog as it is completely mis sold to me and I fear so many more people are going to go through this issue with 4G.
I used all the 1GB data in 10 days not really using the internet a lot at all, I can see now why EE have chosen to cap all data usage they clearly now some people will go way over and won’t be able to pay the bill.
Would like to hear if anyone else has had this problem.
anonymous 25 March, 2013 19:03
This is a bare faced lie by EE I have used my I phone 5 in exactly the same way as the I phone 4 and it has burnt through data far quicker. When I called EE I was told by there customer service advisor that people who work for the company have found the same thing and EE have told there staff not to tell customers that the same amount of data will cover them. Her advice turn off 4g