The UK’s smallest operator, 3 UK, said it will launch its low-cost LTE network in December with ‘All You Can Eat’ data, as Vodafone and O2 today joined EE in providing 4G services for UK consumers.

London, Birmingham and Manchester will be the first cities to go live in December with a further 50 cities set to be added throughout 2014. The aim is to cover 98 per cent of the population by the end of 2015.

The LTE service is being pitched by 3 as the low-cost offering, with prices unchanged from those it already charges for its 3G services — significantly less than the other three UK operators.

For an iPhone 5, 3 UK prices start at £31 per month for unlimited mobile internet with a £29 upfront payment. EE’s ‘recommended’ deal for an iPhone 5 on the 4GEE service is £46 per month with a 10GB data cap and £9.99 upfront cost. Although there are lower monthly tariffs available from EE, the upfront costs are higher and data caps lower. SIM-only prices on 3 are also cheaper.

Nether Vodafone or O2 offer a 4G-enabled iPhone but start their LTE plans at £26 per month for SIM-only deals. All of Vodafone’s Red 4G-ready plans offer unlimited data for the first three months, while O2’s lowest-priced plan has data capped at 1GB per month with the top-priced plan’s 8GB going down to 5GB after 31 October.

Speaking to TechCrunch, 3 UK director of corporate affairs Hugh Davies said that with LTE being a more efficient way to transport data and improving capacity, there is little reason to charge more for the service.

The company said its 4G capability will be rolled out as a software update on LTE-enabled devices. The service will use the 800MHz band 3 UK secured for £225 million in the UK spectrum auction in February.

3 UK chief executive Dave Dyson said in March that the operator was in no rush to launch LTE due to the belief that the quality of the existing 3G coverage would stop customers defecting to rivals offering 4G services earlier.