EE UK to Launch 4G Pay-As-You-Go Mobile Broadband Service

Mobile operator EE (4GEE) has announced that it intends to launch a new 4G based Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Mobile Broadband service this summer and that its recently announced plan to double their network speeds up to 80Mbps (here) will begin “within weeks“.

So far the operators new 4G (1800MHz) network can already reach nearly 55% of the UK population (end of June 2013) and this will extend to 98% by the end of 2014. The next towns and cities to benefit will include Aberdeen, Bath, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cambridge, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Northampton, Norwich, Poole, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Swansea and York.

EE also confirmed that its 4G network would soon be rolled out to major commuter routes, shopping centres and airport hubs (e.g. Gatwick airport has already activated the service). So far over 500,000 customers are using the operators new 4G service.

The operator now plans to compliment this by launching two new services. The first will be Shared 4GEE Plans, which should allow mobile customers to share their 4GEE plans across phones and tablets, or with other people. The second will be Pay-As-You-Go Mobile Broadband, which will allow you to pay for 4G internet access on your tablets and laptops “without a long-term commitment“. The first prices and availability are expected to be unveiled “in the coming weeks.”

Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, said:

“Last year we launched the UK’s first superfast 4G and fibre network. Since then we’ve worked relentlessly to increase the breadth and depth of our reach.

By the end of June, we will have rolled out 4G across 55% of the population, and will continue to switch on new towns and cities. And with commuters spending an average of 75 minutes travelling every day, EE will also roll out 4G across the busiest airports, commuter routes and shopping centres across the UK, powering the areas that matter most to Britain.

We won’t stop here. Customers can be assured that, on EE, they are one step ahead.”

The operator also noted that close to 2,200 major corporations such as Clifford Chance, IKEA, Renault UK and Vector Aerospace, as well as public sector clients including NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, were using its 4G service.

Meanwhile some of EE’s rivals (e.g. Three UK and Vodafone) appear to have delayed their planned 4G launches by several months.