EE rolls out mobile 5G to 14 new towns and cities

Mobile operator EE (BT) has announced that it is expanding its new 5G ultrafast mobile broadband network to 14 more towns and cities across the UK.

Among the major hubs to benefit from this latest expansion of the network are Liverpool, Glasgow, Maidstone, Wolverhampton and Watford.

The 5G network was initially launched in May of this year, with coverage beginning in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester. The rollout has been gradual and centred on urban areas and the busiest parts of cities, with the provider having to wait for Ofcom to auction off several radio spectrum bands before they could make the most of the new technology.

Nonetheless, the mobile broadband network has expended on a daily basis. An independent study by RootMetrics found that EE’s network has 60.6 per cent connectivity in London, 51.6 per cent connectivity in Birmingham and 43.4 per cent in Cardiff.

The most recent expansion of the network saw several of London’s busiest train stations connected. The network has also been extended to high footfall urban areas, such as Bristol Parkway, Cardiff Castle and London’s Carnaby Street and Camden Market.

EE is aiming to have the 5G network live in 45 towns and cities across the UK by the end of the year and has already released a list of some of the areas it hopes to connect in 2020, including Aberdeen, Cambridge, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Commenting on the latest expansion, BT consumer division CEO Marc Allera said: “Switching on 5G in more places is helping us deliver the best mobile experience to our customers, keeping them connected to the things that matter most. RootMetrics’ early 5G testing shows that we are a long way ahead in terms of 5G performance, and our engineers are continuing to build new sites every day, on our journey to keeping our customers connected 100 per cent of the time.”