Tesco Mobile has announced that it will be offering free 4G to its customers, both new and existing, from 30 January. Currently there is a £2.50 surcharge for 4G on the network. 

The free 4G service will be available to all pay monthly and SIM only contracts, with prices starting at £7.50, although you get only 500MB of data in that deal.

There will be 4G bundles offered to pay as you go customers in the future, as well as an expanded line-up of handsets, with the Motorola Moto X and Sony Xperia Z1 Compact (pictured), joining the likes of the iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4.

READ: Sony Xperia Z1 Compact review

"After giving customers the chance to try 4G at their own pace with our flexible 4G tariffs, we've seen people really benefit from what it has to offer," said Simon Groves, chief marketing officer of Tesco Mobile.

"Customers should be able to expect more from their mobile network, so as we see demand for 4G become more widespread, we wanted to take a different approach. Introducing free 4G is a clear example of our intention to provide all of our customers with the very best at no extra cost."

Tesco Mobile is a "mobile virtual network operator" (MVNO), which means it's a mobile service that sits on another network. In the case of Tesco Mobile in the UK, the underlying network is O2.

Tesco Mobile is the first MVNO to offer free 4G.