By . Victoria Woollaston . PUBLISHED: . 05:27 EST, 1 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:30 EST, 2 August 2013 . Mobile operator O2 has announced it will launch its superfast 4G network in London, Leeds and Bradford on 29 August, in a bid to rival EE's current offering. A further 10 cities including Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Manchester and Edinburgh will be connected by the end of the year. O2's 4G tariffs - which will be around five times faster than 3G - start at £26 a month and come with a 30-day guarantee and 12 months free music when bought direct from O2. Mobile operator O2 has announced it will launch its superfast 4G network in London, Leeds and Bradford on 29 August. A further 10 cities including Liverpool and Newcastle will be connected by the end of the year. O2's tariffs will start at £26 a month and come with 12 months free music when bought direct from O2 . EE, which was formed from the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, was the first company to offer a 4G network in the UK. EE held the monopoly on the network because regulator Ofcom gave it permission to use existing spectrum (1800MHz) that it already owned. Ofcom then held an auction for companies to bid to use other parts of the spectrum from 800MhZ to 2.6GHz . O2 purchased 800MHz lots and Vodafone won both 800MHz and 2.6GHz lots. For the typical user, download speeds of initial 4G networks should be at least five to seven times faster than those of existing 3G networks. In July, EE announced it was doubling its 4G speeds for people in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. The speed boost makes the network twice as fast as current average 4G speeds and 10 times as fast as 3G. Vodafone, which is the third biggest operator in Britain, has said it will roll out a 4G service later this summer. EE launched Britain's first 4G services last October after the regulator allowed it to re-use its existing airwaves. The service currently covers 95 cities and tariffs start at £15 for just internet data, or £21 a month for the voice calls and data package on a SIM-only package. Take-up of EEs superfast services, which are priced 10-20 percent more than the equivalent 3G tariffs, reached 687,000 in July. The company is targeting 1 million customers by the end of the year. For the typical user, download speeds of . initial 4G networks should be at least five to seven times faster than . those of existing 3G networks. O2 is launching a range of tariffs starting at £26 a month. Each one comes with what's called a 30-day 'Happiness Guarantee' for customers who sign up direct from O2. This means they will be able to cancel their contract or change it if they are not satisfied. Customers that buy direct 4G from O2 will also be given 12 months free music content. All O2 customers will also be offered free 4G advice and guidance from an O2 Guru from launch, either in-store or online. Further details on O2's 4G prices and rollout dates will be unveiled in the coming months. EE held the monopoly on the network . because regulator Ofcom gave it permission to use existing spectrum . (1800MHz) that it already owned. O2 is launching a range of tariffs starting at £26 a month for its selection of 4G phones, pictured. Each comes with a 30-day 'Happiness Guarantee' and 12 months free music content when bought direct from O2 . Ofcom then held an auction for companies to bid to use other parts of the spectrum from 800MhZ to 2.6GHz and O2 purchased the highest proportion of the 800MHz spectrum for £550m. The spectrum was released to the company in May and the network was approved by Ofcom earlier this week. Ronan Dunne, CEO of Telefónica UK which owns O2 said: 'Digital connectivity will be made ubiquitous by 4G and become the oxygen of modern life. For the typical user, download speeds of initial 4G networks should be at least five to seven times faster than those of existing 3G networks . 'The full potential of 4G is as yet unexplored but over half of our customers say they use more data than two years ago and even more use wifi wherever they go, to always stay connected. 'Given this trend, there is no doubt that 4G will transform our lives, be it as consumers, in business or through public sector services.' The launch in Britain will be the second European market where O2 has launched 4G having already rolled out superfast mobile internet services in Germany, as well as further afield in countries including Brazil. Commenting on the news, Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, said: 'Finally EE has some competition for consumers hungry for super-fast mobile internet. 'For nine months the UK's 4G market has been a one-horse race, but now EE has a thoroughbred breathing down its neck. 'However, until O2 announces full pricing information it remains to be seen just how hard-pressed EE will be. Vodafone, which is the third biggest network operator in Britain, won both 800MHz and 2.6GHz lots during the auction and has said it will roll out a 4G offering later this summer. A miniature weight has been designed to help people improve the strength of their thumbs . In July, EE announced it was doubling . its 4G speeds for people in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, . Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and . Sheffield. The speed boost - which is twice as . fast as current average 4G speeds and 10 times as fast as 3G - will make . it easier to watch HD videos without buffering, share high-resolution . pictures and send large files in seconds. Earlier this week, O2 announced a miniature weight designed to help people improve the strength of their thumbs. The ‘Thumbell’ was designed after new research revealed that 26 million Britons suffer thumb pain because of too much gadget use. The O2 survey found that 43 per cent of people have had thumb pain in the last five years. The fitness tool is currently being trialled by staff to ensure their thumbs are ready for when the company goes 4G at the end of August, as part of O2's 'Fit for 4G' campaign.
O2's 4G network will launch in London, Leeds and Bradford on 29 August .
Another 10 cities will be connected by the end of the year .
Superfast speeds are set to rival EE's network that launched in October .
The cheapest tariff on O2 will costs £26 a month .
By . Victoria Woollaston . PUBLISHED: . 05:27 EST, 1 August 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 05:30 EST, 2 August 2013 . Mobile operator O2 has announced it will launch its superfast 4G network in London, Leeds and Bradford on 29 August, in a bid to rival EE's current offering. A further 10 cities including Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Manchester and Edinburgh will be connected by the end of the year. O2's 4G tariffs - which will be around five times faster than 3G - start at £26 a month and come with a 30-day guarantee and 12 months free music when bought direct from O2. Mobile operator O2 has announced it will launch its superfast 4G network in London, Leeds and Bradford on 29 August. A further 10 cities including Liverpool and Newcastle will be connected by the end of the year. O2's tariffs will start at £26 a month and come with 12 months free music when bought direct from O2 . EE, which was formed from the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, was the first company to offer a 4G network in the UK. EE held the monopoly on the network because regulator Ofcom gave it permission to use existing spectrum (1800MHz) that it already owned. Ofcom then held an auction for companies to bid to use other parts of the spectrum from 800MhZ to 2.6GHz . O2 purchased 800MHz lots and Vodafone won both 800MHz and 2.6GHz lots. For the typical user, download speeds of initial 4G networks should be at least five to seven times faster than those of existing 3G networks. In July, EE announced it was doubling its 4G speeds for people in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. The speed boost makes the network twice as fast as current average 4G speeds and 10 times as fast as 3G. Vodafone, which is the third biggest operator in Britain, has said it will roll out a 4G service later this summer. EE launched Britain's first 4G services last October after the regulator allowed it to re-use its existing airwaves. The service currently covers 95 cities and tariffs start at £15 for just internet data, or £21 a month for the voice calls and data package on a SIM-only package. Take-up of EEs superfast services, which are priced 10-20 percent more than the equivalent 3G tariffs, reached 687,000 in July. The company is targeting 1 million customers by the end of the year. For the typical user, download speeds of . initial 4G networks should be at least five to seven times faster than . those of existing 3G networks. O2 is launching a range of tariffs starting at £26 a month. Each one comes with what's called a 30-day 'Happiness Guarantee' for customers who sign up direct from O2. This means they will be able to cancel their contract or change it if they are not satisfied. Customers that buy direct 4G from O2 will also be given 12 months free music content. All O2 customers will also be offered free 4G advice and guidance from an O2 Guru from launch, either in-store or online. Further details on O2's 4G prices and rollout dates will be unveiled in the coming months. EE held the monopoly on the network . because regulator Ofcom gave it permission to use existing spectrum . (1800MHz) that it already owned. O2 is launching a range of tariffs starting at £26 a month for its selection of 4G phones, pictured. Each comes with a 30-day 'Happiness Guarantee' and 12 months free music content when bought direct from O2 . Ofcom then held an auction for companies to bid to use other parts of the spectrum from 800MhZ to 2.6GHz and O2 purchased the highest proportion of the 800MHz spectrum for £550m. The spectrum was released to the company in May and the network was approved by Ofcom earlier this week. Ronan Dunne, CEO of Telefónica UK which owns O2 said: 'Digital connectivity will be made ubiquitous by 4G and become the oxygen of modern life. For the typical user, download speeds of initial 4G networks should be at least five to seven times faster than those of existing 3G networks . 'The full potential of 4G is as yet unexplored but over half of our customers say they use more data than two years ago and even more use wifi wherever they go, to always stay connected. 'Given this trend, there is no doubt that 4G will transform our lives, be it as consumers, in business or through public sector services.' The launch in Britain will be the second European market where O2 has launched 4G having already rolled out superfast mobile internet services in Germany, as well as further afield in countries including Brazil. Commenting on the news, Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com, said: 'Finally EE has some competition for consumers hungry for super-fast mobile internet. 'For nine months the UK's 4G market has been a one-horse race, but now EE has a thoroughbred breathing down its neck. 'However, until O2 announces full pricing information it remains to be seen just how hard-pressed EE will be. Vodafone, which is the third biggest network operator in Britain, won both 800MHz and 2.6GHz lots during the auction and has said it will roll out a 4G offering later this summer. A miniature weight has been designed to help people improve the strength of their thumbs . In July, EE announced it was doubling . its 4G speeds for people in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, . Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and . Sheffield. The speed boost - which is twice as . fast as current average 4G speeds and 10 times as fast as 3G - will make . it easier to watch HD videos without buffering, share high-resolution . pictures and send large files in seconds. Earlier this week, O2 announced a miniature weight designed to help people improve the strength of their thumbs. The ‘Thumbell’ was designed after new research revealed that 26 million Britons suffer thumb pain because of too much gadget use. The O2 survey found that 43 per cent of people have had thumb pain in the last five years. The fitness tool is currently being trialled by staff to ensure their thumbs are ready for when the company goes 4G at the end of August, as part of O2's 'Fit for 4G' campaign.
will launch its superfast 4G network in London, rival EE's current offering. A further 10 cities connected by the end of the year. O2's 4G tariffs London, Leeds and Bradford on 29 August. A Newcastle will be connected by the end of the year. O2's tariffs will start at £26 a month and