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EE Boasts 7.7 Million 4G Customers, Records 6x More Data Traffic in 2014

Elvanfoot in South Lanarkshire Image Credit: Elvanfoot Residents Assc & EE

EE's 4G coverage expands to 210 more towns in the United Kingdom, taking the total to 510 towns and cities and almost 4,000 villages. The largest mobile operator in UK boasts 7.7 million 4G customers, with 1.7 million added in the last two months alone, setting a record in Europe for the growth of 4G connections by an operator and beating EE's own year-end target of 6 million customers. 

Apart from the stellar growth in its 4G coverage and customer base, EE has during the course of last year introduced more accessible 4GEE plans, including the launch of £1 pay as you go packs, and high-spec but low-cost 4G devices such as the EE Kestrel. EE claims that many new 4G customers have upgraded from Orange and T-Mobile plans to get the extra benefit of the country’s fastest 4G network.

According to EE, its 4G network now covers more than 80% of the population and is on target to reach 98% by the end of 2015.  EE has also doubled the available capacity across the entire 4G network in 2014, and is introducing 4G+ in London and other busiest areas in UK this year to support more users and maintain industry leading 4G speeds.

EE in its statement also shared that six times more 4G data was uploaded and downloaded by customers in 2014 than in 2013. Traffic was driven by customers sharing selfies and videos on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and streaming video from the likes of BBC iPlayer, YouTube and Sky Go. The year 2014 was also a year of peaks on the 4G network, said EE, with major sporting, musical and social media events driving the most usage. Events that saw huge surge in traffic include the football match between Manchester United vs Manchester City at Old Trafford, the Glastonbury Festival in June, the ‘ice bucket challenge’ and the NFL game between Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins at Webbley Stadium. EE also cited that the very end of 2014 saw the peak in uplink network traffic as millions of mobile users across the country share celebratory pictures on social media and wish Happy New Year to friends on WhatsApp.

Author

Ray is a news editor at The Fast Mode, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in the wireless industry.

For tips and feedback, email Ray at ray.sharma(at)thefastmode.com, or reach him on LinkedIn @raysharma10, Facebook @1RaySharma

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