UK operator EE has launched what it claims to be the world’s largest mobile data plan, offering a petabyte (PB) of data.
The PB plan, according to the operator, is aimed at media, film, entertainment and CCTV security industries that transfer large amounts of data over 4G while on the move.
According to EE, a satellite uplink may cost upwards of £20 per gigabyte of data, while the new Super Bundles will cost just £8 per gigabyte. A broadcaster using a 4G EE connection could thus save as much as £12 million on the transfer of a petabyte’s worth of data over a period of time. Customers also would not have to book a slot in advance, as may be the case for satellite uplinks.
The Super Bundles are available in 50 TB, 100 TB, 200 TB, 500 TB and 1 PB units. Each data bundle has no expiry date and is not subject to “sharer fees” – i.e. fees if the bundle is shared between a few users – and they can be paid up front or payment can be phased over time.
According to EE, a petabyte of data is the equivalent of 500 billion pages of standard printed text, one billion Microsoft Powerpoint documents or 13 years of HD video streaming.
The operator predicts that businesses will consume 860 percent more data on mobile devices by 2016. A 3G mobile data fleet of 2,500 users typically uses up to 200TB over a 36-month contract period. Over 4G, data usage is likely to increase to around 600TB.
The operator launched what it claims to be the world’s fastest 4G network in London’s Tech City this week.
Kester Mann, senior analyst at CCS Insight, said that the operators’ new service would help it “to capitalise on the huge increase in demand for data services”.
“These vast data allowances will provide businesses with an important competitive edge through increased productivity and cost savings. Further, their greater flexibility will suit many companies that regularly see fluctuations in data usage among the workforce,” he said.
EE launched its 4G LTE network just over 12 months ago and has already clocked up one million subscribers.
Max Taylor, Director of Corporate Business at EE, said: “Armed with more spectrum holding, and subsequently more network capacity than any other UK operator, we are introducing our Super Bundles for businesses that want to transform mobile working for their employees and need a simple, scalable solution.”
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