EE has today announced that 4G traffic has overtaken 3G on the network for the first time after reaching 10 million 4G customers.
EE became the UK’s first 4G provider back in October 2012 when it launched the “superfast” mobile service and currently has the largest 4G coverage of any mobile network provider. What initially started in only 10 of the major UK cities has now expanded to cater for over 87 percent of the population including many people who live in rural areas of the UK. EE has committed to investing over £1.5 billion towards their rural rollout scheme over the next three years, with an aim to hit 99 percent coverage of the UK population.
The company has predicted that over the next three years, data usage within the network will hit one Exabyte of information (the equivalent of 1,000,000,000 gigabytes).
EE is currently undergoing acquisition by BT for £12.5 billion, making them the largest mobile and broadband operator in the UK. BT has already rubber-stamped the deal but faces an uphill battle with regulatory firms such as The Competition on Markets Authority, who believe the telecoms giant may be too dominant in the telecoms sector and risk carrying a monopoly.
