PlayStation Vita: Vodafone Announced as 3G Provider in UK and Europe

Sony has announced that Vodafone will be the official carrier for the PlayStation Vita 3G when it arrives in the UK on February 22.

Vodafone will also be the 'preferred provider of 3G connectivity' in Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands, as well as the UK.

"With social gaming and connectivity at the heart of PlayStation Vita it is important that we partner with a market leading network provider, to ensure users have a high quality 3G experience" said Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

"Partnering with Vodafone will enable PS Vita users in the selected countries to always be connected with their PlayStation life, friends and games, wherever they are."

The PlayStation Vita - which replaces the PSP as a portable games console - launches in Japan next month and will be released in Europe on February 22.

Group terminals director of Vodafone, Patrick Chomet, said:"We want our customers to have the best choice of devices and PlayStation Vita is a great addition to our range. We know from our application downloads that games are hugely popular with our customers, so we're delighted to be SCEE's preferred connectivity partner for 3G Vita devices sold across Europe.

"Using the device over Vodafone's high-performance network with extensive 3G reach and market leading download speeds brings a reliable 'anywhere anytime' dimension to gaming."