EE UK Launch Cat 12 Enabled 4G Mobile Broadband Kit and Plans
Mobile operator EE has today launched a new range of 4G based Mobile Broadband plans and devices, which includes their 4GEE WiFi router that supports the latest Category 12 (3GPP Release 11) LTE specification for top download speeds of up to 600Mbps and uploads of up to 100Mbps (capacity and network allowing).
Apparently the new 4GEE WiFi router, which takes a 4G+ data signal and distributes it via WiFi (this approach is sometimes called MiFi), supports up to 20 devices simultaneously. The device also comes with a 4300mAh battery bank (up to 15 hours of use), a USB Type C connector and support for the WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards. Depending on the plan and contract this device could cost between £0 and £80 upfront.
On top of that EE has also introduced a cheaper 4GEE WiFi Mini router, which supports the Category 7 LTE standard for speeds of up to 300Mbps. Otherwise this is similar to the one above, although aside from being slower it also only comes with a 2150mAh battery (up to 8 hours of use).
Hopefully it goes without saying that figures like 300Mbps and 600Mbps represent the theoretical capabilities of these devices and the operator’s network, yet mobile is a very variable service and in reality you’ll often receive a considerably slower and more variable connection performance in the real-world.
The new devices are being joined by a range of refreshed Mobile Broadband plans, which we’ve detailed below. EE is also offering the 4GEE WiFi with 2GB data on pay-as-you-go for £89.99 and the WiFi Mini with 2GB data for £59.99.
24 Months Mobile Broadband Plans
| Plan | Data allowance | Monthly cost | Upfront cost | |
| 4GEE WiFi | 4GEE WiFi Mini | |||
| Essential (up to 60Mbps download speed) | 5GB | £13 | £30 | £0 |
| Essential (up to 60Mbps download speed) | 15GB | £22 | £0 | £0 |
| Max (EE’s fastest 4G speeds) | 30GB | £28 | £0 | £0 |
| Max (EE’s fastest 4G speeds) | 50GB | £40 | £0 | £0 |
30 Day Mobile Broadband Plans
| Plan | Data allowance | Monthly cost | Upfront cost | |
| 4GEE WiFi | 4GEE WiFi Mini | |||
| Essential (up to 60Mbps download speed) | 5GB | £15 | £80 | £40 |
| Essential (up to 60Mbps download speed) | 15GB | £25 | £80 | £40 |
| Max (EE’s fastest 4G speeds) | 30GB | £32 | £80 | £40 |
| Max (EE’s fastest 4G speeds) | 50GB | £45 | £80 | £40 |
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and Linkedin.
« INCA Launch UK Awards Event to Find the Best AltNet Broadband ISPs
Openreach’s FTTP Rollout Reaches Over 600,000 UK Premises »
Latest UK ISP News
- FTTP (5530)
- BT (3518)
- Politics (2542)
- Openreach (2298)
- Business (2266)
- Building Digital UK (2247)
- FTTC (2045)
- Mobile Broadband (1977)
- Statistics (1790)
- 4G (1668)
- Virgin Media (1621)
- Ofcom Regulation (1465)
- Fibre Optic (1396)
- Wireless Internet (1391)
- FTTH (1382)
A measly 50GB for £40, this is a joke right? Isn’t it about time they start matching fixed line providers unlimited packages for around this price?
Hell even an unlimited package with 30 down/10 up would suit me fine!
EE also do a 4GEE Home service, which will give you 100GB for about £45 per month and 200GB for £60 on an 18 month term. Average speed is about 31Mbps but this is a SIM-Only style plan and best used with an external antenna.
Even those aren’t enough, we do a lot of streaming..
Uptime: 1d 10h 17m 56s
RX: 47.13 GB (33031516 Pkts.)
TX: 966.80 MB (16016053 Pkts.)
We would hit those limits pretty fast.
Sadly mobile isn’t yet at the point where it can truly match the “unlimited” allowances of fixed line networks, although 5G “might” change that but we’ll have to wait and see.
Is that due to cost or something else do you think?
There are significant differences between the cost structures of mobile and fixed operators. As a result the cost of a unit of traffic is more expensive on a mobile network than on a fixed network. Not to mention issues with the limited supply of spectrum capacity.
Mind you that’s not to say 4G data capacity couldn’t be cheaper in the UK and indeed some networks around the EU do charge a lot less.
@Mark
As I see it you have two options here. Either shop around and find a mobile operator or MVNO prepared to offer a package in line with your ideal data and price requirements or, if none are available, adjust your requirements so that your wallet matches what the market is prepared to offer.
At the moment I suspect there may be a mismatch between your terabyte of downloaded data per month and a realistic monthly cost versus what you wish to pay, I could be wrong though. 1TB per month is well above the UK average for fixed broadband let alone mobile – IIRC the average for fixed broadband is under 200GB per month, which is presumably why the biggest EE package is set at that level.
Mark ( Not Nark J) then get the virgin media sim in a phone and tether it – 50/25 unlimited 4G for £25 a month
Mark (OP not Mr J)
Get the VM unlimited sim and tether from a phone
£25 a month for unlimited 50/25 over EE network
Also, there have been huge increases in EE’s Mobile Broadband prices:
https://shop.ee.co.uk/dongles/pay-monthly-mobile-broadband/4gee-router/details#
The 100Gb option was £45 per month, and is now £55 per month, and the 200Gb option was £60 per month, and is now £70 per month! That’s £10 per month increase, which I find outrageous.
Being on a slow (2 Mbps) EO (Exchange Only) ADSL line with no prospect of any fixed line upgrade, I was thinking about these packages (as an add-on to ADSL, as I still need that unlimited data fall-back – I currently load-balance my ADSL with 32Gb of monthly 4G data as a “speed boost” + backup) – but these massive price rises have made that a very bitter pill. 🙁
As somebody else commented – in areas with no alternative to sub 10Mbps (USO-level) connections, EE/BT could allow either unlimited 4G data caps in fixed location 4G routers, or at worst just throttle the speeds maybe down to USO levels if/when you exceed a “soft data cap”. Oh well…
300GB option is now available to 4GEE Home router customers who ring to upgrade.
Surely an unlimited data allowance with EE, where bt aren’t building the fibre yet in rural areas where consumers get less than 2mb would be an answer until fibre is built as after all bt do own ee.
I completely concur. This would be a viable solution to speeds however, mobile data does have its cons. Latency for example, it’s a big issue for gamers.
This is the very reason BT are now offering fiber plus (where you’re constantly connected whether by fixed line or mobile data), because BT own EE, now if they’re able to offer such guarantees surely one would think that larger allowances would be available for consumers.
Latency averages 40ms on my EE 4G home broadband, I believe this is typical, I don’t game but would this really be a problem? EE 4G has been my only connection to the outside world for 18 months now, it has proven far more reliable and is consistently 10x faster than the ADSL is replaced.
40ms isn’t the end of the world but in time critical situations the opposing player with the lowest latency will always reign supreme.
However if that’s the case I may even consider it myself as currently my adsl is a paltry 2Mbps and latency sits around 2000ms, interleaving is a latency killer.
Unlimited or I’m not interested.
Any details on where will get this upgrade?
Doesn’t look like the coverage maps have been updated, still just double speed and “4G+”. I assume areas with “4G+” will become Cat 12 LTE eventually. However it does seem like expansion of “4G+” fizzled out some time ago.
Nice. Now I can use my 50gb pcm faster!
Where’s my 500gb pcm competitive pricing, not 50gb!!!
Never liked EE because they are stupid tight on data allowance. Hate them! EE will never bring unlimited data never will.
No they shouldn’t it would cripple them – look what it did for 3. the “network built for it”
100GB for £68 a month with calls and SMS suits me fine – and it’s often 250mbps + speeds
I get at least 20Mbps on Three were ever I go, considering they offer unlimited on a Cat4 network it’s not that bad, their 5G offering should be very interesting.
I’m amused by the fact that on the base package, you can burn through your data allowance in as little as 11 minutes if you get the full download speed of 60Mb, which is easily possible.
As others here have stated it is quite vexing that BT are not turning to 4G solutions for the pockets of people that are not able to access superfast BB speeds due e.g. being in a rural area. I can understand them, at this time, not offering a general package for anyone but they could tailor a 4G MiFi package for those customers in FTTC not spots. I’m sure many customers would accept the increased latency if it meant they could do meaningful things with the internet.
4G latency is low and a viable broadband solution for those without teenagers.
New 300GB tariff coming from EE but £90 per month.
We need unlimited so bought fttc close to the cabinet and hired BushBroadband.com to send it via radio to our area with low speeds. We are a small cluster of properties with a good line of sight to a faster area.
It has to be some sick joke charging those prices for such a pathetic data allowance. It’s 2018 where everyone and their dog is streaming content and downloading games and other applications.
50GB? for the price of proper unlimited fibre??? Are you mental?
Get a dual SIM Android phone, cheap PAYG for calls/texts, then get a 4GEE Home Router SIM for the second data slot.
Try 3 mobile 100gb £30 Month
What is the range