Telefonica-owned O2 is to launch LTE-based services in the UK on 29 August. In doing so, it will provide competition to EE, which has enjoyed a 4G service monopoly in the UK since 30 October 2012.

O2’s 4G network is to be switched on first in London, Leeds and Bradford. Ten additional cities are to follow by the end of the year.

The operator says it has plans to reach 98 per cent coverage of the UK population – both indoor and outdoor – with 2G, 3G and 4G.

No specific date has been set for that target, although it does say from the initial five million people covered at launch it aims to make 4G available to an additional two million people per month.

Unlike EE’s 4G, which runs on the 1800MHz frequency band, O2 kicks off its superfast mobile broadband service on 800MHz (recently cleared for use by Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator).

Lower frequency signals are better for in-building penetration, which no doubt explains O2’s emphasis on indoor coverage.

EE, which has less 800MHz spectrum than both O2 and Vodafone, has not yet provided an indoor coverage target, although the joint venture between Deutsche Telekom and Orange says it’s aiming for 98 per cent outdoor population coverage by the end of 2014.

EE rivals, however, have got a lot of catching up to do. The lone UK 4G operator, by the end of June, had managed to rack up nearly 700,000 4GEE subscribers (and is on target, it says, to reach one million by the end of the year.) An outdoor population coverage target of 60 per cent has been set for the end of August.

Moreover, EE has recently rolled out “double-speed 4G” in 15 UK cities capable of throttling up to 80Mb/s and with average speeds in the 24-30Mb/s range – double the operator’s LTE data speeds at launch.

EE also lowered its 4G tariffs in early July ahead of launches by O2 and Vodafone, cutting its cheapest smartphone tariff (with a 500MB data allowance) from £31 to £26 per month.

O2 says its 4G tariffs will also start at £26 per month, although no details have been given as to what other tariffs and data allowances might be. As a sweetener, though, O2 is offering 12 months of free music content for those who buy a 4G consumer tariff direct from the operator.

Vodafone UK has yet to nail down a date for 4G launch (so O2 may not be the first to challenge EE’s superfast mobile broadband offering). Industry sources say the operator’s plans will be revealed next week.

Vodafone previously claimed it’s on track for 98 per cent in-building coverage by the end of 2015 with LTE launch scheduled for “late summer”.

Three UK – the fourth network operator with 4G spectrum – is not expected to join the LTE fray until the end of the year.