Vodafone Group appears to be planning an own-brand 4G smartphone, with the device having recently passed through the approvals process with the US Federal Communications Commission.

According to documents cited by Engadget, the device is a rebadged Coolpad 8860U from Chinese vendor Yulong – one of the top three smartphone vendors in its home market.

The Android device has triband LTE support (800, 1800, 2600MHz) alongside 2G and 3G connectivity.

What is not immediately clear is the target market for the device: Vodafone’s own-brand devices have traditionally been aimed at cost-conscious customers, while its 4G connectivity plans target higher-spending customers (its cheapest UK SIM-only offer is £26 per month).

With LTE still in its infancy in the UK, and Vodafone’s rivals continuing with their positioning of it as a premium service, there seems to be little incentive for the company to push 4G adoption further into the mass market.