Mobile phone retailer Phones 4u is to launch its own mobile network as it seeks to extend its reach in the evolving telecommunications market, it has been announced today.
Available from March this year, Life Mobile has been in development for over 12 months and will initially run on EE‘s 3G network with plans to roll out 4G services later this year.
Offering a range of tariffs and data packages, the phone retailer believes that the move “reflects the changing nature of customer usage”.
“The launch of Life Mobile is a very significant step for the Phones 4u business,” Tim Whiting, Group CEO at Phones 4u explained.
“Our strategic vision is based upon an unrelenting focus on building ever-stronger relationships with our customers, which we believe is fundamental to our on-going business success.
“This focus delivered record revenue growth in 2012, a year in which we opened more than 100 stores across the UK.
“We are delighted to be extending our longstanding partnership with EE in order to add Life Mobile to the extensive range of products and services available at Phones 4u.”
Under its current business model, Phones 4u acts solely as a provider of handsets and contracts though will now join retailers such as Tesco, which offers own-brand phones in a bid to gain from the hugely popular, and increasingly competitive, mobile phone sector.
EE, previously operating as Everything Everywhere, announced plans in October last year for the launch of a 4G service which has now been rolled out nationwide and Phones 4u hopes to capitalise on the opportunities that this presents.
Whiting concluded: “Our customers see their mobile devices as an integral part of their daily lives. Life Mobile will enable us flexibility and creativity in designing propositions to give our customers even further choice.
“We will sell both 3G, and later in 2013, 4G Life Mobile tariffs alongside our existing network propositions and are confident the new network will play a key role in driving further growth for our business.”
