EE UK Offers New 4G+ Home Router and 200GB Plan for Mobile Broadband

Mobile operator EE has today launched a new LTE-Advanced Category 7 capable 4G+ Home Router, which can theoretically handle Mobile Broadband speeds of up to 300Mbps and it can be taken with a huge monthly data allowance of up to 200GB per month. But the top allowance doesn’t come cheap.

The 4G router (sized 146*146*32mm) is able to connect up to 32 devices via WiFi to EE‘s 4G network and it promises “real world download speeds” of up to 90Mbps, although the device itself is based off Qualcomm’s MDM9240 platform and can theoretically handle LTE Category 7 performance (i.e. up to 300Mbps download and 100Mbps upload) via Carrier Aggregation (using two radio spectrum bands at once – 2 x 20MHz download and 2 x 20MHz upload).

At present the operator’s “superfast” 4G network covers 83% of the United Kingdom’s landmass (equal to more than 99% of the UK population) and they have an ambition to extend this to 95% geographic coverage by 2020.

Max Taylor, EE’s MD of Marketing, said:

“Our new 4GEE Home Router provides customers with a great alternative to fixed-line broadband using the UK’s fastest and most reliable mobile network. It’s simple to set up and use straight out of the box, so it’s ideal for customers with slower fixed line speed or people who regularly move house and need instant Wi-Fi connectivity.”

The focus on areas with slow fixed line connectivity is a key point of the new promotion. Traditionally mobile operators have struggled to offer a viable alternative to fixed lines because of their expensive and limited data caps, as well as other issues with network restrictions, service quality and coverage.

However, as coverage improves, EE also appear to be targeting the issue of data usage and as such they’re now offering plans that go up to 200GB (GigaBytes) per month on an 18 month contract (see the plans). The downside is that these aren’t exactly cheap but they’re getting a lot better and more competitive.

Alternatively customers can purchase the device on pay-as-you-go for an upfront cost of £129.99 with 10GB pre-loaded data.