EE Bring 4G to 2588 UK Rural Villages and Small Towns and Boosts Speeds

Mobile operator EE has announced that their “superfast” 4G (LTE at 1800MHz) based Mobile Broadband network will soon be expanded to cover 2,588 villages and small towns with populations under 10,000. At the same time the operator also plans to extend the footprint of its “double speed” (150Mbps) network to 40 towns and cities by the end of 2014 and there’s more..

Apparently the expanded footprint will include many rural areas and involve locations from Silverburn in Scotland (less than 65 people) to Aberdulais in South Wales (500 people). Overall EE claims that more than 3 million people in rural areas “now have access to a mobile network to rival the UK’s largest cities” (although we’d suggest that many of the locations it calls rural are arguably more suburban).

Elsewhere the operator said that 47 major train stations and 22 of the biggest airports, from Bournemouth to Aberdeen, now have their 4G service; including upwards of 50% 4G coverage on 50 of the country’s busiest motorways and A-roads (Coverage of major roads in urban areas, such as the M25 and M62, is apparently greater than 80%).

Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, said:

“With more experience of 4G than any other UK operator, we have unique insight into how the technology is changing behaviour. Our mobile devices have effectively become mini TVs with video traffic already making up over half the data on our 4G network.

We’re committed to remaining one step ahead – adapting our network to make 4G available where it matters most, with a focus on more rural areas, transport links and offering our customers the best network experience and great value, innovative devices and plans.”

But, as sales of EE’s 4G plans outstrip 3G for the first time, the operator has also announced plans to launch the UK’s first 4G in-car WiFi device (MiFi). This plug-and-play device (£49.99 on PAYG) will enable any car with a 12v connection to instantly become a 4G WiFi hotspot for up to 10 connections, and avoid the need for expensive in-built solutions. However we’re unclear how this differs from other portable 3G/4G based wifi routers, except for the 12v adapter.

EE are also introducing two new standard 4G WiFi devices, one pocket-sized premium device is for busy professionals and called the ‘Kite’ (£69.99 on PAYG). The other device is for a younger audience – ‘Osprey’ (only £49.99 on PAYG). All of these are due to launch on 28th May 2014 and you can find the 4G WiFi data plans / prices below.

Elsewhere EE said that they’d also embarked on a programme for selected video and TV content owners, who desire an optimum user experience for their customers over EE’s 4G network. For example, work with the BBC iPlayer team has already seen “significant improvements for their customers on the speed of programme load times“.

At present EE’s 4G network can reach 72% of the United Kingdom’s population and they aim to hit 98% by the end of 2014. EE has also launched a 4G LTE based Fixed Wireless Access alternative to Home Broadband in isolated rural areas (here) and plans to start boosting their mobile 4G speeds up to 300Mbps later this summer (here).