EE Extend 4G to 95 Percent of UK as Home Broadband Users Hit 933,000

Somehow we managed to overlook last week’s Q4 2015 results from EE, which confirmed that they added +6,000 extra home broadband customers in the quarter to total 933,000 (lower than the +8k added in Q3) and expanded their 4G (LTE) Mobile Broadband network to 95% of the UK.

Admittedly the latest results have perhaps been somewhat overshadowed by BT being granted approval to finalise their £12.5bn merger with EE (here) and indeed the latest report now refers to the company as being part of the BT Group. Due to all this EE’s results are fairly sparse on detail.

Never the less we do learn that their 4G network coverage now reaches more than 95% of the UK population (it should hit 98% by the end of this year) and their “double speed” 4G coverage has also been extended to 80%. Elsewhere the operators 2G coverage reaches 99% of the population and 3G can cover 98%.

Marc Allera, CEO of EE, said:

“2015 was an exceptional year for EE, as we met and exceeded 4G targets, won multiple awards for our network performance, and improved our customer satisfaction scores. As part of BT, we’re entering the next chapter of EE’s journey, and look forward to a phenomenal opportunity to innovate for the benefit of our customers, while continuing to build and enhance the UK’s digital infrastructure.”

It certainly has been an “exceptional” year for EE, although their achievements were largely overshadowed by a £1 million fine for shoddy customer complaints handling (here), exploding PowerBar chargers (here) and then Ofcom’s not especially complimentary update on customer complaints (here).

It will be interesting to see how BT handles the transition, especially since they have a few issues of their own to resolve with regards to customer service. Not to mention the potential impact from Ofcom’s imminent Strategic Review.