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Phones 4u, the independent mobile retailer, is to partner with EE to launch its own virtual mobile network in March.
Phones 4u's new network, LIFE Mobile, will use EE's existing network infrastructure and radio spectrum as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) -- the 25th MVNO to form a partnership with the EE network, whose portfolio already includes network offerings from Virgin and Ikea.
EE states that LIFE Mobile will offer "a wide range of great value tariffs and services that include data packages as standard, reflecting the changing nature of customer usage."
Despite piggybacking on the only network to currently offer 4G, LIFE Mobile tariffs will not launch with 4G as an option.
EE will remain the exclusive purveyor of 4G for the time being, but is set to make it available to LIFE Mobile later in 2013. Full information on LIFE Mobile's tariffs will be published in the coming weeks.
Marc Overton, Vice President of Wholesale and M2M at EE, is decidedly vague about the spread of 4G on EE's blog: "Our ambition is to provide 4G to key industry players by the end of 2013, and we feel this will open up a world of opportunities for both new and existing partners alike." Both EE and Phones 4u remained tight lipped about the future sharing of 4G data plans when Wired.co.uk contacted them.
Rather than gaining a new high street presence, LIFE Mobile will operate out of existing Phones 4u stores. The retailer's move to offer its own mobile network follows a successful 2012 for the group, in which they managed to cram another 100 stores onto high streets across the UK.
While high street entertainment retailers continue to struggle, with the likes of Blockbuster, HMV and Jessops all filing for administration in the early weeks of 2013, this move from Phones 4u would seem to indicate that there's money to be made in offering consumers yet more mobile tariffs. Wired.co.uk is keeping its fingers crossed that the additional competition will only be a good thing for mobile users, with tariff options that are competitive rather than "more of the same".
Are you happy with your current mobile network? Interested to see what LIFE Mobile will offer? Let us know in the comments below.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
