Three, the Hutchison 3G network in the UK, says it’s added more than 1.04 million customers in the past 12 months. It now has 8.8 million UK customers, with 301,000 joining in the last quarter alone.

The network is also deploying DC-HSDPA (Dual Carrier High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology to upgrade its network and is increasing the speed of its backhaul connection to the internet. 39% of the UK population already has access to this ‘Ultrafast’ network, with half the UK population due to be covered by the end of 2012 and more than 80% of the population expected to be covered by April 2013. Speeds of over 20Mbps have been reported by Three UK customers using DC-HSDPA devices such as the Apple iPhone 5, the Sony Xperia T and the Windows Phone 8X by HTC.

Dave Dyson, Chief Executive of Three UK, said “We have led the adoption of smartphones in the UK by giving our customers great coverage, fast speeds and compelling price plans. These network improvements are designed to maintain our position as the fastest growing UK mobile operator. Our Ultrafast network is giving more people in more places access to an even faster mobile internet experience. But mobile internet is about more than just technology. All-you-can-eat data at prices to suit everyone and peace of mind bundles that guarantee no surprise data bills are designed to allow customers to get the most enjoyment from their smartphones.”

In addition, Three’s Wholesale business unit has launched a cloud-based machine-to-machine platform that makes it quicker and easier to set up a virtual mobile network for M2M devices. The Ericsson-supplied platform will enable MVNOs for M2M devices to go live within just two weeks.