Everything Everywhere, owner of the T-Mobile and Orange mobile phone networks, is to drop its widely criticised name as a consumer brand in a marketing makeover this year.

In a landmark ruling by regulators Everything Everywhere on Tuesday won the right to launch the UK's first 4G mobile internet service in September, and the company will use the occasion to introduce a third brand to the public.

Standing for fourth generation, 4G technology is supposed to deliver internet download speeds 10 times faster than the 3G service which helped bring the internet to mobile phones a decade ago.

More bandwidth is needed to help networks keep up with the growing demand for data from smartphones. Mobile networks struggle to broadcast video over 3G – most moving images are watched on the small screen using wi-fi connections. It is hoped 4G will make smartphone video streaming an every day experience.

The decision will give the UK a taste of 4G in time for Christmas, allowing it to catch up with other European nations and the United States, which already have dozens of superfast mobile networks up and running. Britain is not due to auction the extra spectrum Vodafone, O2 and Three say they need for 4G until next year. But EE has enough of its own to push the button now, giving it a six to 12-month head-start on rivals.

Telecoms watchdog Ofcom has granted EE permission to flick the switch as soon as 11 September, and while the service may not be ready until a little later, EE has been installing equipment since the beginning of this year in anticipation of early roll-out. It has already covered a number of major population centres.

By coincidence, the date is a day ahead of Apple's rumoured 12 September iPhone 5 unveiling. The latest Apple phone is expected to go on sale in October, although it is far from certain that the device will support 4G on the spectrum 1800MHz band being used by EE for 4G.

It is thought that some of the newest Nokia smartphones, which use Windows software, will be compatible. While there will be very few 4G handsets and tablet computers in time for Christmas, EE will be able to market the service using dongles which plug into laptops to give them a mobile signal.

"This ruling could well provide a springboard for Everything Everywhere in the lucrative customer acquisition stakes," said Stuart Orr at management consultancy Accenture. "This will be especially true if they are then able to offer [a 4G] enabled iPhone 5 ahead of anyone else."

There is speculation the brand name used to plug the service could be 4G Everywhere – it was registered by the company as a trademark in May, alongside 4G Everything and 4GEE.

In a statement the company said: "We are planning to launch a new brand in the UK later this year. This new brand will sit alongside our existing brands Orange and T-Mobile. We will reveal more information on our exciting plans in due course."

Orange, which rose to prominence through its high profile sponsorships of the BAFTA film awards and the Women's Prize for Fiction, may not be permanent fixture in the UK telecoms landscape, however. EE's owners, France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, are thought to be keen to float their UK joint venture once conditions in the financial markets improve, which could eventually trigger a decision to drop their respective Orange and T-Mobile brands.

EE's head start on 4G provoked a furious reaction from Vodafone, which said it was "shocked" at the Ofcom's decision, while O2 said it was "hugely disppointed". Spectrum acquired in next year's auction, currently occupied by digital TV, will not be freed up for use nationwide before next Autumn.

It is thought unlikely that rival networks will seek an injunction to stop EE's launch, although legal experts say they could make complaints at a later date. "Even if there is no reason for challenge today, the other operators will presumably be keeping the situation under review and will be looking for any possible action on the part of Everything Everywhere with their newly acquired monopoly status that could justify a complaint under UK or EU competition law," said Patrick Clark, telecoms expert at law firm Taylor Wessing.

In a separate deal, EE confirmed on Tuesday that it had sold for an undisclosed sum a quarter of its 1800MHz holding to the UK's smallest network Three, owned by Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa. The company was obliged to sell some of its large holding as a condition of its creation through the merger of T-Mobile and Orange. Three will not be able to use the spectrum for 4G immediately, as EE is not obliged to hand it over until September 2013.