After its launch in October, EE has been slowly taking over as the new powerhouse in the UK network arena, but with the network offering 4G connectivity in only 18 of the UK’s biggest cities there is still a long way to go until real 4G connectivity is widespread across the UK.
However, things are picking up as EE’s parent company Everything Everywhere has announced they will be launching in a further 17 towns and cities in the coming months, which will take the total number of 4G connected areas to 35 before March 2013.
Last week EE quietly launched 4G/LTE connectivity in Derby, Newcastle and Nottingham and the company has already promised to activate 4G in Belfast, Hull, Maidenhead and Slough before the end of the year.
The areas that will be getting 4G between January and March of 2013 are:
- Bradford
- Chelmsford
- Coventry
- Doncaster
- Dudley
- Leicester
- Luton
- Newport
- Reading
- Rotherham
- St. Albans
- Sunderland
- Sutton Coldfield
- Walsall
- Watford
- West Bromwich
- Wolverhampton
What’s more, for those who won’t be getting 4G in their area EE has also announced that it will be upgrading 40% of its network’s coverage area to a new speedier 3G network to support dual-channel HSPA+ (DC-HSPA+ for short), which provides speeds of up to 48Mbit/s.
The faster speed will also be rolled out to Orange and T-Mobile customers, who will benefit from the speed improvements early in 2013 when roaming on the EE network.