Over 99 per cent of the population across Malta and Gozo is now covered by Vodafone Malta’s 4G network, which brings to a close the company’s national roll-out.

Vodafone Malta remains the only mobile operator on the island to offer 4G, which was launched in Malta a year after it was first introduced in the UK.

This service offers speeds up to 10 times faster than standard 3G or public Wi-Fi on customers’ mobile devices.

Vodafone’s 4G technology also allows for superior speeds on mobile even when compared to fixed line internet services. Current estimates are that, given a suitable handset, speeds of up to 150Mbps can be achieved over the 4G network.

Vodafone Malta invested over €10 million in launching 4G and this formed part of a wider major investment in every aspect of the company network’s strength, quality and connectivity.

This investment enabled the introduction of other new network services including HD Voice launched earlier this year, which produces crystal clear quality sound using state-of-the-art technology of background noise reduction.

The network investment in Malta formed part of Vodafone Group’s market-wide network modernisation programme, designed to respond to customers’ ever-growing use of mobile internet. Malta is moving in line with this trend, with the latest Eurobarometer survey published in February showing a massive increase in smartphone use.

Survey results showed that in 2014 over 61 per cent of internet users were accessing mobile data through their smartphone, an increase of 32 per cent over the previous year.

Vodafone Malta’s latest statistics also indicate this growth in smartphone usage further accelerating: over 80 per cent of phones sold by Vodafone these days are 4G capable.

“Our drive to provide the fastest and most reliable network was the obvious decision,” Sheila Kavanagh, Vodafone Malta’s new head of technology, said.

“Mobiles can do so much more for people than just calling or texting. People need access to mobile data anytime and anywhere and with 4G we provide them with the fastest and most secure mobile internet experience on the island. The fact that almost half of our total data traffic is now carried over our 4G network clearly indicates that customers appreciate the quality and speed it offers.

“We are therefore so pleased to have reached the 99 per cent milestone since this now means that every one of our customers can use superfast internet on their mobile with 4G if they wish to. We are also aware that with people using more mobile internet , this could lead to concerns about running up high bills for data. This is why we launched Relax earlier this year for our postpaid customers, which cut rates for out-of-bundle data usage by 80 per cent and introduced a better notification system and a flat rate of €2 for every 100MB above a customer’s bundle.”