O2 'disappointed' by 4G announcement

O2 has joined Vodafone in opposition to Ofcom's decision to allow Everything Everywhere to bring 4G to the UK.

The move means that rival providers will have to wait months before they can offer the service, a situation which O2 claims will "exclude" scores of customers.

"We are hugely disappointed with today's announcement, which will mean the majority of consumers will be excluded from the first wave of digital services," an O2 spokesperson told TechRadar.

"This decision undermines the competitive environment for 4G in the UK."

Everything Everywhere - the joint venture of T-Mobile and Orange - have been granted approval to reuse its existing spectrum to launch 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) services in Britain from September 11.

Ofcom's ruling has caused controversy, with other networks due to take part in a spectrum auction to deploy their own 4G services early next year, and Everything Everywhere in negotiations to sell some of its Spectrum to Three.

O2 had reportedly finalised its 4G tariffs and was in discussion about rolling out the service before Ofcom made its announcement.