Hot on the heels of O2's announcement, Vodafone has confirmed it will switch on its 4G network on August 29th — the same day as its rival. Initially, the company will only offer its LTE service in London but it hopes to extend its network to 12 more cities by the end of the year. Today's announcement sees three of the big UK carriers fully commit to 4G — EE led the charge when it launched exclusively at the end of last year — with Three and BT yet to announce their launch dates.

Vodafone's price plans will start at £26 per month for a 12-month SIM-only deal with 2GB of data. For customers wishing to order a subsidized 4G-ready smartphone, plans will start from £34 per month on a 24-month plan and from £52 per month on a 12-month plan. All tariffs will come with a choice of either a Spotify Premium or a Sky Sports Mobile TV subscription. To incentivize existing customers to make the switch to 4G, Vodafone will give Red tariff subscribers the option to upgrade their plan for an additional £5 per month, making all plans available from August 12th.

Last year, Vodafone and O2 struck a deal to collaborate on network of 18,500 mobile sites to expand coverage across the UK. Like its rival, Vodafone will not offer the iPhone 5 on its LTE networks as it won't be compatible with the Apple flagship's LTE bands. Consumers may also be keeping a close eye on Three after it said it will not charge customers any extra for its 4G service. Following London, Vodafone will switch on its 4G service in Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield.