Following an agreement that the UK’s new 4G mobile spectrum would be available for use by next summer, Everything Everywhere has confirmed a launch date for its own 4G service and its EE brand.
EE will launch 4G in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield on the 30th October 2012. A third of the UK population is expected to be covered by the end of the year when Belfast, Derby, Hull, Nottingham, Newcastle and Southampton are added. By 2014, 98% of the UK population is due to be covered by 4G service from EE.
Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, said “This is a significant milestone for the United Kingdom, and for the people and businesses of our country who will now be able to enjoy the huge advantages of superfast 4G technology for the first time. We are very proud to be pioneering, innovating and leading our industry in launching 4G for our nation through our new EE brand.”
T-Mobile and Orange started selling a number of 4G-ready handsets today. Customers who choose one of these device will be able to move to the new 4G EE network when it launches or can choose to remain on their existing 3G network.