EE 4G Reaches 14 New Towns And More Rural Areas

EE has added 14 more ‘large’ towns to its 4G network, claiming it now covers 73 percent of the UK population with LTE.

A town with a population of more than 10,000 is classified as “large”, but no towns get on the list of “fully connected” places unless they have 80 percent coverage. EE 4G is now available in Mansfield, Swinton, Jarrow, Kirkby, Wishaw, Ilkeston, Castleford, Walton-On-Thames, Totton, Carrickfergus, Newton Abbot, Wimborne Minster, Ramsbottom and Dumbarton.

EE 4G Coverage

This brings the total number of EE 4G towns and cities to 229, although some of the new additions are close to major cities like Newcastle and Liverpool, and the number of small towns and villages to more than 2,500.

The operator says this reaffirms its commitment to rural areas, following the recent announcement it is to offer calls and texts over Wi-Fi alongside a trial of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology, while it also recently revealed plans for a 4G-enabled Wi-Fi network at the Glastonbury festival this weekend.

“We’re continuing to invest in bringing superfast 4G and the best quality of phone calls to more places in all four corners of the UK,” says CEO Olaf Swantee. “We are switching on hundreds of 4G sites, and upgrading as many 2G and 3G sites, each month, and many of those are in rural areas where there is a real demand for voice and data services.”

EE has the widest coverage and most customers of any 4G operator thanks to a ten month head start over its rivals. It has sought to maintain this advantage through cheaper contracts, shared data plans and pay-as-you-go tariffs, alongside other innovations such as its own-brand EE Kestrel smartphone and in-car Wi-Fi packages.

What do you know about UK mobile operators? Find out with our quiz!