EE is committing to invest £1.5 billion between now and 2017 as part of a new manifesto “Signalling the Future”, designed to tackle the UK’s changing digital infrastructure needs, and lay the foundations for the UK to be a global leader in the mobile communications space. In this second phase of its network strategy, EE will focus on extending its number one rated 4G network to more than 99% of the population and 90% of the UK’s geography. The largest mobile operator in the UK said that it expects its double-speed 4G to reach 90% of the population, with highest capacity 4G+ accessible in 20 of the busiest UK cities by 2017. The company also plans for a rural investment programme that targets to enhance coverage for both voice and data services to 90% of the UK geography and to deliver world-leading performance with 99.6% reliability.
In addition to this, EE said it will also be a key stakeholder in a multi-year programme that aims to position the UK as a world leader in the 5G mobile technology.
CEO Olaf Swantee
Stage one of our Network strategy saw us overhaul UK mobile networks, launching 4G and changing the way people and businesses use their smart devices. This revolution of the mobile landscape has made the UK a leader in global communications once again. Today we’re announcing the next stage with a commitment to, once again, radically improve mobile coverage, this time with a strong focus on rural UK, all while continuing to increase speeds and capacity with deeper coverage in more cities. Smart devices are playing an ever-increasing part in our customers’ lives in every part of the UK.
EE Principal Network Architect, Professor Andy Sutton
We’ve invested in 4G and taken the UK back to a position of leadership in mobile, and now we’re investing in 5G so that we can define the next step, and keep both us and the UK mobile industry one step ahead. Working closely with academic institutions such as the 5GIC at the University of Surrey and the EU’s Horizon 2020 ‘TWEETHER’ project at Lancaster University on technologies that are truly ground-breaking, EE will continue to change the way people think of what’s possible with mobile. We will continue to evolve new 4G technologies, as they lay the perfect foundation for being a global leader in 5G.
