4G rollout moves at full speed as EE goes live in 10 more UK towns

EE has added further momentum to its next-generation connectivity plans by extending 4G services to a further 10 UK towns.

Customers in Altrincham, Bedford, Camberley, Crawley, Farnborough, Farnham , Maidstone, Rochdale, Tonbridge and Welwyn Garden City can now take advantage of high-speed 4G services when out and about. While lucky punters in Belfast, Newcastle and Southampton get the added bonus of double-speed 4G connections.

Just last month the network giant switched on 4G in 11 more UK locations, bringing its next-gen coverage to 55 per cent of the country's population. This followed similarly rapid expansion in May of this year.

This latest announcement means just nine months post launch EE's 4G mobile offering is now available in 95 towns and cities, equating to 60 per cent coverage of the UK population. Some 15 cities have the double speed option available to them.

"It has been a busy summer with the launch of next generation services including Cash on Tap and new Shared 4GEE plans, and we're continuing to keep up the pace of our 4G rollout. Today we're launching in a further 10 UK towns bringing superfast 4G services to more and more businesses and consumers," said Olaf Swantee, EE's CEO.

"The arrival of double speed 4G in a further three cities means we remain one step ahead, and on track to provide our customers with a world leading mobile experience."

EE was given the green light to make use of its 1800MHz spectrum to offer 4G services in August last year, giving it a head start on competitors. Indeed, almost a year on, many believe rival operators are still struggling to play catch up. The company is aiming for 98 per cent coverage of the UK population by 2014.

Earlier this month, EE announced it had doubled 4G download speeds to 150Mbps (the less fast option being speed of up to 60Mbps) for free, as well as cutting prices high overheads has previously been cited as just one of the barriers to widespread 4G adoption.

In separate news today, EE also announced is latest financial results, which showed monthly 4G adoption rates had doubled during the period. Indeed, its 4G customer base now stands at 687,000 subscribers, according to the company.

The results, which cover the six months ending 30 June, showed a 4.9 per cent increase in service revenue year-on-year (2.84 billion) and a 3.1 per cent increase in turnover (3.2 billion).

"Today's results demonstrate our success in building our new brand and differentiating our network to drive commercial momentum while continuing to deliver cost savings to increase our margin performance," Swantee added.

"We've doubled the rate at which we're adding 4G customers and doubled our 4G speeds across 15 cities to deliver the world's fastest network for our customers indoors, outdoors and on key commuter routes."