End of 2013 wait for Three's 4G LTE service
Three have revealed further details of their 4G roll-out plans during an earnings call on Tuesday, announcing that they will wait for the technology to have fully matured before rolling out a service to rival EE’s in the UK.
“Our network stacks up very well. Right now the latest version of 3G and the early versions of LTE are not dramatically different and I am very confident that our customers are getting the right experience,” said CEO Dave Dyson.
“Realistically, I think it’s going to be towards the end of the year before you see us launch (4G) LTE as a technology.”
Three acquired space on the 800MHz spectrum during the recent auction, but will bide their time it seems then before making use of it. Certainly, their standard 3G network is proving very popular, attracting an additional million new customers since the last earnings call.
The company’s customer base now sits at a healthy 9.1 million, with the company making £101 million in profit – only Three’s second year in the black since it began trading in 2003.
When Three eventually do decide to roll-out their superfast mobile network, they seem well placed to attract even more customers – the network has vowed not to add a premium to their 4G tariffs.
