5G POWER! Three and Activision partner to showcase the future of online gaming in the UK

A formidable 5G force: Three and Activision partner to showcase the future of online gaming in the UK

  • Three’s 5G home broadband delivers an optimum online experience for Activision’s latest instalment of its most iconic series - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

  • Customers on Three will be given early access to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Beta plus a bonus in-game weapon charm

Wednesday, September 18, 2019: Three and Activision announce a new partnership that will see Three’s new ultra-fast 5G home broadband deliver an optimum online experience for one of the most popular games in the world - the much-hyped launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, available October 25. 

Image Credit: Activision

Image Credit: Activision

Set to revolutionise the future of gaming, 5G will give Call of Duty players the optimum online experience, where split second decisions mean the difference between winning or losing. Gamers using Three’s 5G home broadband will get plug-and-play access to seamless online gaming and super smooth gameplay, where the only thing limiting a superior performance, will be the player’s skill.

To celebrate the partnership, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Beta codes have been released to Three customers via its wuntu rewards app*. Available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC players, each early access code combined with Three’s new 5G home broadband means you can immediately experience a quick download and then a super-slick, first look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, giving you loads of time to make the most of the final days of the Beta period.

Three customers will also have access to a bonus in-game item, a jet-themed weapon charm.

A 5G connection is a step change in what people have been accustomed to from a mobile connection to date and it paves the way for a whole new level of gaming and live streaming without the all too familiar stuttering, annoying freezing and dull loading bars that we have all become used to. Whether playing on console or PC, Three customers can put 5G through its paces versus the standard wired home broadband connection to witness the speeds for themselves.  

This partnership cements Three’s continued expansion of its 5G home broadband service - the first stage in building the UK’s fastest 5G network. It also showcases Three’s long-term commitment to enhance the gaming and home entertainment experience for customers, which at £35 per month delivers truly unlimited data, so you can play, stream, download and connect all your devices and apps without any restrictions or worries about data.  Plus with the option of same day delivery** and a simple plug and play set-up, you can make the most of your Beta access. 

Shadi Halliwell, chief marketing officer at Three, said:  “Ultra-fast speeds are a priority for seamless streaming of entertainment especially gaming. Three is delivering a 5G experience that can’t be beaten which makes us the natural choice for one of the world’s leading games’ publishers.

“Customers also don’t want restrictions around how they consume entertainment and with 5G it’s important everyone can explore all its exciting possibilities without worrying about incurring hidden data costs. The combination of our superior 5G network that comes at no extra cost, our truly unlimited data plan and this fantastic partnership with Activision, means gamers can play the world’s most popular game without boundaries and simply concentrate on their chosen mission.”

Lee Godfrey, Call of Duty UK Senior Brand Manager at Activision, said: “We’re excited to be partnering with Three in the UK. Their commitment to delivering the very best player experience through its ultra fast 5G Network, is a perfect match for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.”

Three‘s customers will benefit from the vast 5G capacity, reliability and speeds that only Three has access to, due to the amount of spectrum (airwaves) it owns. Three is the only UK network that has 100MHz of contiguous spectrum that supports ultrafast speeds and enables a better customer experience of the power and potential of 5G.

Vodafone, O2 and Three win 4G, but auction falls £1.2bn short

O2, Vodafone and Three have all won slices of 4G spectrum, meaning networks other than EE can begin rolling out speedy data services this year.

This morning Ofcom confirmed that after more than 50 rounds of bidding, every major UK network has walked away from the now-concluded 4G auction with barrelfuls of bandwidth, including spectrum that was freed up in the TV digital switchover.

Vodafone was the biggest bidder, splashing out nearly £800m for a pair of 10MHz slices in the 800MHz band, as well as other bits of bandwidth that will enable it to offer faster mobile data to customers. BT was the lowest bidder, but managed to nab some bandwidth.

Although EE is already running a 4G network using 1,800MHz bandwidth it already owned, the operator -- which owns Orange and T-Mobile -- paid just shy of £600m to pick up even more spectrum.

It's hoped that more networks offering 4G will cause a price war that results in cheaper tariffs for phone buyers. Three has fired the first shot already, promising that it will roll its 4G network into existing coverage, without raising prices.

Meagre cash for Britain

Ofcom boss Ed Richards called the auction's result a "positive outcome for competition in the UK", but the amount of cash generated by bidding networks was substantially lower than expected, which is bad news for the UK.

The total cash generated was £2.34bn. That's nothing to sneeze at, but is well short of the £3.5bn the auction was expected to raise. Moreover, Chancellor George Osborne had already factored the expected sum into the nation's budget this year, making it appear that the UK's deficit would fall in 2013. That leaves the treasury £1.2bn short of its expected target. Take it away, Picard.

[Source: CNET]

Three won't charge extra for 4G, unlike EE

Three won't charge extra for 4G when it launches later this year. Unlike the pricey EE, the company promises there won't be separate 3G and 4G price plans -- which means you could get 4G for as little as £7 per month, if it doesn't change its current deals.

Three's 4G service will launch in the second half of this year, using the 1,800MHz airwaves it's buying from EE. You'll need a phone with LTE gubbins built-in to benefit from the faster mobile Internet connection, but once you've got the right phone there's no extra cost.

When 4G launches in or after the summer, existing customers won't need to change price plans or SIM cards. If you own an iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia 920 or Sony Xperia Z you won't even have to change phones. The latest Apple iPad mini and iPad with retina display tablets are also ready for 4G.

Soon the choice will be even wider with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE andBlackBerry Z10 arriving on Three imminently.

Three vs EE

The first 4G phone network here in the UK is EE, the network formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile. EE has come under fire for its prices, or more specifically, the stingey data limitsincluded with each price plan: £36 for 500MB of data, anyone?

By contrast, Three's SIM-only deals start at a mere £6.90 per month for 500MB of data -- you do have to buy the phone yourself, but as a monthly fee that's a quarter of the cost of EE's cheapest 4G deal.

Opt for Three's One Plan and you can bag yourself unlimited all-you-can-eat data from £12.90 per month. That's a 12-month contract too, so you're not tied into a two-year deal like many of EE's plans.

What is Ultrafast? 

Three is adding 4G LTE to its Ultrafast network, which currently uses the DC-HSDPA standard. DC-HSDPA is a faster version of 3G -- think of it as 3.5G -- and allows compatible phones to connect to the Web faster than 3G, even when you can't get 4G.

DC-HSDPA currently reaches half the UK population in 50 towns and cities. It's planned to reach 80 per cent of the population by the end of March. Three hasn't yet revealed how wide its 4G coverage will be.

The other phone networks don't have access to the 1,800MHz spectrum and have to buy different airwaves in an auction currently being held by Ofcom. The telecoms watchdog expects the first rival 4G services to launch in May.

[Source: CNET]

MiFi goes white !

Now that geek is chic, rucksacks are set to overflow with tablets, laptops, e-readers and gaming gadgets. To keep them online all the time, Three’s award winning MiFi offers a portable Wi-Fi hotspot which lets up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices connect securely to the internet at once, without the fuss of cables and wires. Smaller than most phones, the MiFi can slip easily into a bag or pocket and be on hand to connect you to the internet at the touch of a button. 

The new MiFi hasn’t just had a winter white makeover, it also now features next generation HSPA+ mobile broadband technology, meaning that you can download videos, browse pictures, tweet and surf the web around 50%* faster than before. 

The MiFi screen displays key information like the amount of data used, speed of the connection and length of browsing time, as well as a new look dashboard for viewing SMS and changing settings. In addition, the Wi-Fi user name and password can be seen on screen for fast pairing with new gadgets.

Personally, I have a MiFi for using when I am out and about… I just kind of wish I had this one that would look cool alongside my Apple gear. You can check it out here.