LONDON/MADRID, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Spanish telecoms operatorTelefonica announced plans on Thursday to roll outsuperfast mobile internet in three British cities this month anda deal with TeliaSonera's Yoigo allowing it access to4G frequencies in Spain.
Telefonica's British brand O2 plans to launch its superfastmobile network in London and two other cities before extendingit elsewhere around the country later this year in an effort tocatch up with the market leader, merged Orange andDeutsche Telekom operator EE.
In Spain, Telefonica has lagged competitors, with all othermobile operators already offering 4G (fourth generation)services, which speed up browsing and improve video quality onphones.
The tie-up with Yoigo will allow Spain's largest mobileprovider access to superfast frequencies it does not have now inexchange for granting the smaller player access to its broadbandassets.
The deal is expected to go through in the fourth quarter ofthe year and will help Yoigo compete in the attractive market ofbundled mobile and fixed line services where it only offeredmobile before.
O2, which was overtaken as the number one mobile operator inBritain when Orange and Deutsche Telekom merged their assets toform EE, said its 4G service would start in London, Leeds andBradford on Aug. 29.
Another 10 cities will be connected by the end of the year.
EE launched Britain's first 4G services last October, afterthe regulator allowed it to re-use its existing airwaves, givingit an advantage over competitors in providing a service thatallows consumers to watch video on the go and download contentat much faster speeds.
Take-up of its superfast services, which are priced 10 to 20percent more than the equivalent 3G tariffs, reached 687,000 inJuly, and it is targeting 1 million customers by the end of theyear.
Telefonica has already rolled out superfast mobile internetservices in Germany and other countries including Brazil.
Vodafone, the third biggest operator in Britain, hassaid it will roll out a 4G offering later this summer.
Vodafone (VOD)
