EE has revealed a number of new 4G plans for entry level customers and super users, while outlining future developments to its network, including a trial of 300Mbps speeds in London and a 4G-powered home broadband offering for rural areas without fixed fibre connections.
Speaking at event in London, Pippa Dunn, chief marketing officer at EE, said the new plans and innovations were designed to ensure that EE maintains its head start over its 4G competitors, having launched ten months earlier than Vodafone and O2.
“4G more rapidly than any other mobile technology has moved from niche to the mainstream,” she said, promising that EE’s “unprecedented roll out speed” would see the 117 towns and cities currently covered by its LTE network to 140 by the end of the year.
“We live in a 4G world now,” she added. “By the end of 2013 if you live in a town of 30,000 people – a third of Wembley – you will likely have 4G.”
Additionally, 4G customers who take out home broadband services with EE can boost their mobile data allowance by 10-20 GB.
EE said it was hoping to increase the accessibility of its service with the UK’s first 4G handset plans and promised that all smartphones available on its pay monthly tariffs would be offered. Customers who sign up before 31 January will receive a one-off bonus of 10GB of data to be used during the first three months, as well as 168 free additional minutes a month as part of its ‘2,014 for 2014’ promotion.
At the end of EE’s presentation, it confirmed that it intended to make its network even faster with a 300Mbps trial in London later this year ahead of a wider rollout in 2014, and that it was working on a solution for rural broadband using LTE.
In November, the operator will introduce home broadband products and plans for areas not currently served by fixed superfast broadband services as part of its commitment to accessibility and promised more details would be introduced in due course.
4G has long been touted as a way of solving so-called rural ‘not-spots’ and earlier this month it was reported that mobile operators had been invited to a government meeting as part of plans to increase superfast broadband coverage to 98 percent of the UK population by 2018.
“Using its massive 4G coverage advantage to target the digitally isolated – Brits in rural areas who still can’t get fast broadband at home – is a very clever move,” commented Oliver Folkard, telecoms expert at uSwitch. “By targeting frustrated broadband customers still stuck in the slow lane with its 4G powered home internet plans, EE is chasing a new customer base with a solution to the massive discrepancy in rural versus urban broadband speeds in the UK.”
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As one of the original 4G trial participants, I am really pleased that those of us in rural areas may see the 4G rollout.
Whilst on the trial, I was getting speeds of between 20 and 40+Mb/s
My home "broadband" is sub 1meg - generally around 750 to 800kb/s which really isn't much use in todays digital age. The superfast broadband rollout has taken place at my exchange, but my line doesn't support the technology as I am too far from the cabinet.
Let us hope that the 4G rollout comes with a good data allowance (or better still, uncapped) and a decent price.