4G has dominated this weeks news, with Vodafone and O2 finally launching their own high-speed networks to compete with EE. We spoke to representatives from four corners of the mobile industry – a retailer, publisher, ad network and creative agency – about what they expect wider 4G access will mean for their business.

While EE might no longer have the monopoly on 4G, its got a serious head start. On the same day as the others launches, the operator announced it had switched on its 100th city. It seems unlikely that the timing was coincidental.

That leaves just 3, which revealed its plans for a 4G rollout starting this December, over a year later than EEs initial launch. You might except, then, that 3 doesnt stand a chance in the 4G race, but it has one trump card – price.

In its announcement, the operator confirmed that it wont be charging subscribers anything extra for 4G access, and followed up today with the news that its getting rid of roaming charges in seven countries, ranging from the Republic of Ireland all the way to Australia.

But it wasnt all warring operators this week. Googles Nexus 4 saw a major price cut, bringing the cost of the LG-manufactured handset down to $199 in the US, and £159 in the UK. Kirsty Styles shone a spotlight on ZNAP, the mobile wallet company which isnt overly interested in mobile payments. Newsworks, the marketing body part-owned by all of the UK’s major national newspaper publishers, launched The Tablet Project, an initiative to create ad standards for newspaper tablet apps. 

Finally, if youre in the mood for something a little more visual, watch our video report on PayPals picture verification service, which launched a couple of weeks back with a small selection of retailers in Richmond. We head over to see it in action, and spoke to the companys head of retail services Rob Harper.

Thanks for reading – and watching – and well be back on Monday with all the best news from across the industry.

Alex Spencer

Online Editor