EE CEO Olaf Swantee said, “Stage one of our Network strategy saw us overhaul UK mobile networks, launching 4G and changing the way people and businesses use their smart devices. This revolution of the mobile landscape has made the UK a leader in global communications once again.
“Today we’re announcing the next stage with a commitment to, once again, radically improve mobile coverage, this time with a strong focus on rural UK, all while continuing to increase speeds and capacity with deeper coverage in more cities.
EE Principal Network Architect, Professor Andy Sutton, said “We’ve invested in 4G and taken the UK back to a position of leadership in mobile, and now we’re investing in 5G so that we can define the next step, and keep both us and the UK mobile industry one step ahead. Working closely with academic institutions such as the 5GIC at the University of Surrey and the EU’s Horizon 2020 ‘TWEETHER’ project at Lancaster University on technologies that are truly ground-breaking, EE will continue to change the way people think of what’s possible with mobile. We will continue to evolve new 4G technologies, as they lay the perfect foundation for being a global leader in 5G.”
In reports from Ofcom, EE has recently been named as best for rural phone call quality and reliability, and best for 4G and 3G speeds and coverage. In the 2nd half 2014 National RootScore Report from RootMetrics, with more than one million samples taken and 24,000 miles driven, EE was ranked as the UK’s number one overall network, including being ranked number one for call and mobile internet network performance.
The “Signalling the Future” manifesto also outlines policy priorities for the next government to help accelerate the rollout of digital infrastructure in the UK.