UK mobile video on the march — at long last
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Joseph O'Halloran
| 25 May 2014
Since the late 1990s, the dream of UK telcos of using video and TV to recoup the fortunes they spent on 3G-spectrum acquisition has been just that: a dream. But this week maybe the reality arrived.

The state of UK mobile networks has been a constant bug bear and frustration to users: lack of consistency and quality of signal are among the reasons why to date to date mobile TV and video has yet to take off. Who would pay for services where the quality is so poor? In addition there are still huge swathes of the UK, and actually even London, where mobile reception is of noticeably low quality.

Yet undeterred, leading mobile operator Vodafone has made one of the most telling announcements in mobile TV and video in the UK, entering into an exclusive mobile promotional partnership with over the top (OTT) video leader Netflix to offer its 4G customers a six month pre-paid subscription to Netflix, giving access to a wide variety of movies and TV box sets including original series like House of Cards, Arrested Development and Orange is the New Black.

The deal will mean that 4G network users in more than 230 cities and larger towns and other smaller communities will be able to watch Netflix content via their smartphones, tablets or other device.

Commenting on what a 4G mobile video service could offer the OTT leader, Bill Holmes, head of business development at Netflix: "Netflix is all about giving people the freedom to watch what they want to watch, when they'd like to watch it, on whatever device. This partnership with Vodafone further enhances that freedom to watch while on the go."

Added Vodafone UK consumer director Cindy Rose: "With 4G, speed is just the start: it's what you can do with it that's really exciting. We're delighted to be partnering with Netflix so that our Red 4G customers can enjoy their favourite TV programmes and films when out and about. We're already offering 4G in hundreds of cities, towns and villages across the UK, providing an amazing video streaming experience. There's no need to mess about finding a Wi-Fi hotspot, with ultrafast 4G you can just enjoy your favourite entertainment on the move whenever you want it."

There it is then: 'an amazing' streaming experience. Who wouldn't want that – something that would be a first for UK mobile TV and video. The key to everything is 4G. Vodafone already bundles as part of its 4G service access to Sky Sports and Spotify . Offering online films and TV services from one of the UK's most popular will test even more the strength of its network but, in fairness, will also establish Vodafone as the mobile TV video leader in the UK despite fierce competition from EE who came to market with 4G substantially earlier than Vodafone or Telefónica's O2 subsidiary.

Indeed EE's near two million 4G customers' increased use of video services made a significant contribution to EE's overall 2013 financial performance. Revealing what users were doing with the added capability of the next-generation network, EE's 4GEE Mobile Living Index showed 4G customers increasingly watching mobile video. In the period 1 January to 10 February 2014, nearly a quarter (23%) of EE subs used the 4G network for video downloading, uploading or streaming. YouTube, DailyMotion and the BBC iPlayer were the most popular mobile video applications with Netflix trailing in their wake. The OTT leader could find better luck with Vodafone who is sure to drive home the message of what it is offering to its customers.

These customers could, even inadvertently rack up huge sums for not just Vodafone but all operators. A recent survey of UK mobile users by Citrix found that even though just a fifth of mobile users watched video on their mobile devices, nearly three-fifths (58%) of subscribers with monthly quotas exceed it. The worst offenders were Millennials (68%) followed by Baby Boomers (44%). Looking as to how they went past their limits, 59% did so browsing the internet (59%), 48% from watching video. Two-thirds of those who watch at least one mobile video per month, and have a monthly data limit, have exceeded their quota; by contrast just over a third (36%) of those who said they watch less than one mobile video per month, and have a monthly data limit, have exceeded their quota. A further 59% of users thought that mobile ads did not count towards their monthly data quota.

The good times may just be about to roll for mobile TV in the UK