Best 4G network: EE vs O2 vs Vodafone

EE is no longer going to be the only 4G operator on the block, with the big blue of O2 and the big red Vodafone networks finally bringing their super fast mobile offerings to the table.

With EE being an established network, covering over 50% of the UK population, both networks have a lot of work to do.

The biggest thing that all of the networks have to worry about is convincing people that 4G is the way to go, since Gary Marshall points out that consumers just don't see the need for 4G. So what do the big three networks have up their sleeves? Here is our run down on what you can expect.

Best 4G Coverage

Let's face it, 4G is going to be of no use to you if you don't have access to it. EE now has 4G coverage for over 50% of the UK, covering many cities across the UK including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. 24% of the UK is also eligible for EE's new double speed 4G.

O2 will be launching its 4G service from August 29, covering London, Leeds and Bradford, covering a total of 13 cities by the end of the year. Vodafone will launch initially in London, with 12 more UK cities to be covered before the end of 2013.

Given Vodafone and O2 share their base stations in a cost-cutting measure, it makes sense that the same 13 cities would roll out at the same time - although Voda might choose to go to some different locations to offer variety.

Best 4G price

EE's 24-month 4G plans start at £26pm with 500MB of data, climbing by £5pm for a further 500MB. However at £46pm, a whopping 10GB of data is on offer, climbing to an even larger 20GB for a mind boggling £51pm.

For a 12-month contract, prices start at £41pm for 500MB of data, with £66pm gaining you 8GB of data. EE also offers 12-month and rolling 1-month contracts, starting at £21pm and £23pm respectively. All plans come with unlimited calls and texts.

Vodafone has announced that there will be both 12 and 24-month Red 4G plans, again starting at £26pm. These Red plans will also include unlimited minutes and texts, with varying data limits.

Vodafone will be including 3 months worth of unlimited data to all new contracts, but Vodafone UK CEO Guy Laurence made it clear that "we won't be going unlimited in the near future. In fact I'm not sure it will go unlimited at all".

O2 has finally outed its prices too, and they're a little simpler to understand. All coming with unlimited texts and calls, the base price for a SIM only contract on a 12-month deal is £26 for 1GB of data. £31 a month will net you 3GB of data, and £36 will get you 5GB.

However, order before 31 October and the latter two tariffs will be bumped up to 5GB and 8GB of data for the whole term of the contract.

If you're one of those looking to get on the Refresh scheme, which sees your monthly payment split into airtime and paying for the phone, meaning you can upgrade anytime you want and simply throw in the remaining balance for the handset.

If you go down this route, 4G data plans start at £22 for 1GB of data, £27 for 3GB and £32 for 5GB, with the 5GB and 8GB upgrades also on offer. These also come with unlimited texts and calls.

Best 4G handsets

The most important part of your new contract will be your new smartphone (assuming you haven't already purchased a 4G-ready device). Possibly the biggest phone for any network right now is the iPhone 5.

As you may have heard, O2's 800MHz 4G band isn't supported by the Apple device, so to make the most of your iPhone's mobile web, you will need to choose a different network. That said, we would highly expect the next iPhone iteration - iPhone 6 anyone? - to be available on O2 from the outset.

Don't go thinking that Vodafone will be able to offer Apple's iPhone 5 on 4G either though, since that network's running the 2.6GHz and 800MHz bands... neither of which are supported by Apple's latest handset.

What about the other 4G-ready phones? O2, alongside both EE and Vodafone, will be carrying the 5 star rated HTC One, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 Mini, and the Sony Xperia Z, with the smaller Xperia SP available on EE and O2.

The Nokia Lumia 820 is available across all the networks, with the Lumia 920 and Lumia 925 available on both Vodafone and O2.

EE currently has 15 different 4G devices, including the network-exclusive Huawei Ascend P1 LTE. O2 will be offering 20 different devices, whereas Vodafone has a total of 13 different handsets.

• For a full rundown of the best 4G phones out at the moment, head over to our in-depth feature on this very subject.

Best 4G deals

Also important to your new plan is what else your chosen network can offer you. Whether it's a free cinema ticket or free gifts from the high street, each network has its own goodies to try to tempt you across.

EE now has EE Wednesdays, a continuation of Orange Wednesdays, with a free cinema ticket available mid-week for all EE customers. Being the longest serving 4G network, EE is also able to offer double speed 4G, with 12 UK cities having a theoretical 150Mbps top speed. Probably more interestingly, EE will also be bringing shared plans, so you can access 4G on multiple devices.

EE also offers:
- Free add-on with certain tariffs
- Cash on Tap, free £10

There are also reports that the big red Vodafone network will also be offering shared plans at some stage. Vodafone also offers a Sure Signal box, plugging into your router to offer mobile signal at home. Elsewhere, Vodafone VIP is available to customers, offering tickets to Vodafone-sponsored events.

More importantly, Vodafone will be offering 3 months unlimited data, as well as offering to buy customers out of their contracts, should they upgrade. Also being bundled in with 4G plans will be either a Spotify Premium or Sky Sports Mobile TV subscription.

Vodafone will give users who sign up before August 18 two years' free Sky Sports access to use up their 4G allowance... sneaky, when you consider the amount of spouses bored shopping just DESPERATE for a Premier League fix.

O2 has long had Priority moments, offering up high street discounts from money off chocolate to cheaper flights or 2 for 1 entry at a theme park. O2 also offers Priority tickets, offering up tickets up to 48 hours before general release, and Priority sports gaining access to a variety of sports-based offers.

O2 also offers TU Go, an app that enables you to use your O2 number to make calls and send texts via Wi-Fi from not only your phone, but also your tablet and laptop - which even includes the London Underground.