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BT's EE to Refarm 2G Spectrum for 600 LTE-A Sites

BT's EE to Refarm 2G Spectrum for 600 LTE-A Sites Image Credit: EE

EE, the UK’s largest mobile network operator and part of the BT Group, is upgrading more sites by converting 2G airwaves for 4G LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) sites to drive the fastest mobile data speeds and most reliable voice service from the latest smartphones. 

The operator will refarm 10MHz of 1800MHz spectrum from 2G to 4G network as part of the upgrade for more than 600 sites across cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff, over the next six months. It has already equipped these sites with 20MHz of 1800MHz spectrum, and 35MHz of 2.6GHz spectrum.

The sites will power the next wave of mobile devices to hit the UK market, equipped with ‘Cat 12’ and ‘Cat 16’ modems, making sure consumers are getting the most from their new smartphones.

These sites will also enable customers on the latest smartphones to share their work-on-the-go files and social media images and videos faster than ever before, by doubling the data upload speeds from the current maximum of 50Mbps to up to 100Mbps on more than 900 sites across the UK, said the Operator.

EE has also invested in 4x4 MIMO, which sends and receives four signals instead of two, making the spectrum twice as efficient. EE is also rolling out 256QAM technology, which increases the efficiency of the spectrum.

Marc Allera, CEO, EE
We keep investing in our network, and using our technology leadership to make sure customers are getting the most out of the latest smartphones. Customers need to be on 4G, getting the best out of their new devices with the highest quality phone calls and the fastest mobile data speeds. 

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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