EE has confirmed details of the 17 UK towns and cities that are next on its list for 4G mobile phone service.

It says 4G will be launched in Bradford, Chelmsford, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Leicester, Luton, Newport, Reading, Rotherham, St Albans, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield, Walsall, Watford, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton during the first three months of 2013.

This 4G service from EE is described as being around five times faster than 3G. The number of masts in launch areas is also being increased; EE intends its 4G coverage to match that of the 2G and 3G Orange and T-Mobile networks. In addition, the EE network’s mobile backhaul connections are also being updated to Gigabit Ethernet capacity, enabling them to handle faster data speeds.

Olaf Swantee, Chief Executive Officer of EE, said “By the end of the first quarter of 2013, 4G will be available in 35 towns and cities across the UK, making superfast mobile accessible to thousands more customers and businesses every day. We’re delighted with the progress of the 4G rollout – we are improving the network every day, delivering superfast mobile to more and more people right across metropolitan areas, whether they’re using their devices outdoors or in their homes and offices. This has struck a chord with businesses in particular, with great demand being seen. We’re delighted to already be powering large, medium and small businesses with 4G.”

4G EE service is currently available in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton. Service in Belfast, Hull, Maidenhead and Slough is due to be switched on before the end of the month.