Some very surprising news here in the UK today, as reported on by The Verge, with the shock decision by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom to give Everything Everywhere final approval to start running an LTE service on its 1800MHz spectrum, way before the previously announced 4G auction, which is set to kick off next year. And while iPhone and iPad users in the UK might not recognise the name Everything Everywhere, they will most certainly recognise the names Orange and T-Mobile, which are the two carriers that come under the Everything Everywhere banner in the UK. So, that’s great news for them, and for UK customers, but not such good news for the big three carriers in the UK, namely O2, Vodafone, and Three, who are all still waiting patiently for the 4G auction, and will have to sit back and watch their rivals steal a march on them. As The Verge notes, Vodafone has not minced its words with the statement it has issued today on the matter, saying that it is “frankly shocked” by Ofcom’s decision, before going on to say, “the regular has shown a careless disregard for the best interests of consumers, businesses and the wider economy through its refusal to properly regard the competitive distortion created by allowing one operator to run services before the ground has been laid for a fully competitive 4G market.” O2 has also said it is “hugely disappointed,” and Three has said “further liberalisation without addressing competition issues could make that distortion worse.”

Meanwhile, the big three can complain all they like, as The Verge reports that as it now stands, Orange and T-Mobile will be able to offer LTE connectivity from September 11 onwards.

Source: Everything Everywhere earns Ofcom approval for early LTE in UK, Vodafone left 'shocked' | The Verge