forget 4G, we need 3G national coverage

UK geographic landscape is still predominantly rural. Whichever classification is used
England urban areas contain about 80 per cent of the population but cover roughly 20 per cent of the land area, rural areas cover roughly 80 per cent of the land and 20 per cent of the population. coverage in most of the 5 mile area araound us is dire...

Another Christmas without a universal 4G service will cost the UK economy £120 million in lost sales, according to a study.

Slow connection speeds are set to pose a barrier for many consumers wanting to shop via their mobile phones, and a nationwide roll-out of 4G would have boosted sales from £373 million to £493 million, the report by online auction site eBay claims.

More than half of consumers (55%) plan to use their mobile to browse the web this Christmas, while 39% say they will use their device to get gift ideas and check prices.

And eBay.co.uk said it expected to see around a third of items in its Christmas campaign bought through a smartphone.

It said the top three barriers preventing consumers from shopping on their mobiles were slow connection speeds, payments timing out and network reliability - all problems effectively eliminated by 4G.

EE, formerly known as Everything Everywhere, has started to launch its range of 4G products and services in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Southampton and Manchester.

The network, which offers speeds up to five times faster than 3G, will be available on the Apple iPhone 5 as well as devices from HTC, Samsung, Nokia and Huawei.

Clare Gilmartin - get a grip, think of the bigger picture, you are missing out on so much more, the jump from 3G to 4G is just a soundbite...