14 DAY TRIAL // UK wireless carrier Three has announced plans to provide its users with faster data services on its 4G LTE network without asking them to pay extra fees to upgrade.
The carrier is set to make its Three Ultrafast network available later this year, and will make the service accessible at all existing price plans, with some new offerings also set to be included in the lineup.
At the moment, Three’s Ultrafast network offers support for the DC-HSDPA technology and can provide fast data speeds to over 55 percent of UK's population.
Three UK is set to make the service available to 80 percent of the population by the end of March, while being set to include in the offering the 1,800MHz spectrum that it has acquired recently, starting with the second half of the year.
All users who already own an Ultrafast-ready device can now take advantage of the fast speeds that the carrier’s Ultrafast network is offering, all without paying a premium fee or needing to swap SIM cards or price plans.
According to Three UK, 4G LTE is set to become available as standard with all customers’ price plans when it starts being deployed later this year.
“Our customers choose Three because they love the internet and know they can get great speeds and great value on our award-winning network,” said Three UK Chief Executive Dave Dyson.
“As we add the next wave of technology to our Ultrafast network, we’ve listened to our customers and thought long and hard about the right way to do it.”
“We don’t want to limit Ultrafast services to a select few based on a premium price and we’ve decided our customers will get this service as standard. With Three, it’s simple, great value and Ultrafast. What you might expect from the network that was built for the internet,” he also said.
Some of the Ultrafast-ready devices on the carrier’s network include the Apple iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia 920 and Sony Xperia Z, as well as Apple iPad mini and Apple iPad with Retina display.
Furthermore, the carrier announced that it was planning to launch Ultrafast-ready LTE flavors of handsets such as Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II starting with the next month. The BlackBerry Z10 smartphone that will arrive on shelves in mid-February will sport LTE connectivity as well.