4G for all? Not yet, but we're half way there, says EE
Mobile operator EE has extended the reach of its 4G LTE data service in the UK, bringing the total number of towns and cities able to access the service to 50.
The company said that 13 new locations — Bradford, Bingley, Doncaster, Dudley, Harpenden, Leicester, Lichfield, Loughborough, Luton, Reading, Shipley, St Albans and West Bromwich — had been added in the most recent rollout phase.
EE launched the service on 30 October 2012 with coverage in 11 UK cities and a pledge to cover 98 percent of the UK population by the end of 2014.
Currently, with the addition of the new towns, coverage stands at around 50 percent of the population, with that figure due to rise to 70 percent by the end this year.
By June, the network's 4G service should be available in more than 80 towns and cities, Olaf Swantee, chief executive of the company, said in a statement on Thursday.
"As 4G is switched on in each town and city, EE engineers turn their focus to increasing network density, ensuring the continued advancement of the service to increase speeds and further improve indoor coverage. The speed and availability of 4G from EE is continually increasing, so that users have consistent, superfast access to 4G when travelling, and during their commutes," EE said in a statement.
Network density is the number of activated mobile masts within a given area.
In ZDNet testing, the EE 4G service delivered speeds ranging from around 6Mbps to 20Mbps.