AppAdvice International: Britain's 4G Market, Apple's EU Headquarters
Britain
This week, we heard from British carrier O2 that its 4G LTE network is now covering more than 30 percent of the population. The news comes as dominant carrier Everything Everywhere (EE) is seeing its position challenged by the likes of rival carriers O2, Vodafone, and 3.
We explained at the time: “The news means British iPhone owners now have even more of a viable alternative 4G carrier to EE, the country’s first – and biggest – LTE network provider. Though rival carriers O2, Vodafone, and 3 have indeed launched their own 4G LTE networks, comparably poor coverage means most iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c owners have nevertheless chosen EE and, in some cases, paid a higher price.”
[caption id="attachment_534718" align="aligncenter" width="642"]
O2's 4G LTE network. [/caption]
The carrier announced in a press release that one-third of Britain’s population now has access to its 4G LTE service. It’s an impressive achievement, even if EE is still the No. 1 carrier in Britain:
Since its 4G launch in August 2013, O2 has amassed over one million 4G customers. Those customers used more data in the 4G network’s first six months than the entire O2 network carried between 2000 and 2008, demonstrating the unprecedented demand for fast and seamless data services.
The announcement comes as O2 sheds light on its ambitious nationwide network modernisation programme – one of the largest infrastructure improvement projects taking place in the UK today. Around 25% of O2’s 2G and 3G masts will be upgraded by the end of 2014 in order to deliver an increase in call quality and all round network experience, improving both call and data connectivity at peak times and in high-density areas.
O2 has also invested £16 million in order to bring its 3G cellular data network to places presently without any 3G coverage. More than 200 areas across the country “will get their first taste of 3G data coverage from O2 this year,” the carrier added.
For now, British iPhone owners have even more of a viable alternative to EE in the form of O2. Here’s hoping the likes of Vodafone and 3 are able to further expand their 4G LTE networks, too, in order to make 4G access even more of an affordable commodity in the country.
EU HQ
Also this week, images of Apple’s recently completed “Building 4” at its European headquarters in Cork, Ireland surfaced online. Though little is known about the initiative, a handful of images provided a rare insight into one of Apple’s HQ buildings.
Here they are:
These images have been removed following a legal request. We apologize for the inconvenience, however the original selection is still available to view at MacRumors (for the time being).Apple’s Cork headquarters was the first Apple HQ to be built outside of the United States, and it was established in 1980. More recently, however, the media’s eyes have been focused on Campus 2 – the ambitious spaceship-like development Apple is building in its home town of Cupertino. For more information on the futuristic development, click this link.
See also: David Fincher Is Reportedly Out As Director Of Steve Jobs Film, AppAdvice App Of The Week For April 14, 2014, and Movies By Flixster Updated With Chromecast Support.
AppAdvice International is a weekly recap of the international news published here at AppAdvice. The column goes live every Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. GMT.
