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Broadband ISP and mobile operator EE (BT) have today announced that they’re aiming to expand the population coverage of their latest 5G Standalone (5GSA) mobile network to reach 99% of the UK by the end of FY30. The move appears to be a reaction to VodafoneThree’s (Vodafone and Three UK) target (here) of achieving the same outcome by 2034.
Just to recap. Earlier deployments of 5G were largely Non-Standalone (NSA), which meant they were partly reliant upon older and slower 4G infrastructure. But SA networks are pure end-to-end 5G that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better mobile broadband speeds (particularly uploads), network slicing, improved support for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, support for Voice over 5G SA (Vo5G) calling, and increased reliability and security etc.
EE officially began launching a range of new 5G SA supporting mobile plans across 15 major UK cities in September 2024 (here) and they’ve since been rapidly expanding upon that coverage (example). The operator has previously informed ISPreview that they only announce 5GSA availability once a location has “at least 95% outdoor coverage“, which helps to ensure a good level of connectivity.
However, EE has today clearly felt the need to keep ahead of the curve and respond to VodafoneThree’s own 5GSA deployment plans, which they’ve done by setting a clear target of reaching 99% of the UK’s population with the technology by the end of FY30. As part of this they’re also rolling out some innovative new technologies, which we’ve summarised below.
EE’s New Mobile Technologies
➤ EE today announces that it is the first European mobile network to deploy a new generation of Massive MIMO units (Ericsson AIR 3284, the world’s first 5G triple-band FDD Massive MIMO radio). These are antenna integrated radios that deliver maximum network experience and up to four times greater uplink capacity. Two of these units are live in Leeds – with hundreds more to follow by the end of the decade.
➤ We have over 1,500 outdoor small cells now boosting coverage nationwide – 500 of which were added in just the last 12 months. This includes our very first small cell deployments in towns and cities such as Belfast, Bristol, Oxford, Middlesbrough, Preston and Bolton.
➤ We last month announced that we are the first operator in the world to launch Advanced RAN Coordination (ARC) in our distributed mobile network. This enables mobile sites near to each other to remotely pair up and share capacity, dramatically boosting network performance.
In addition, EE said they would in future be referring to all this by the term ‘5G+‘ rather than the technical industry shorthand 5GSA or 5G Standalone, which they say is “language that’s simple and relatable“. But they also want the government to support their efforts with changes.
Howard Watson, BT’s Chief Security and Networks Officer, said:
“Government support is essential if we are to transform our ambition for nationwide 5G+ coverage – and the significant economic opportunity it brings for the UK – into reality.
A valuable next step would be for Government to launch a Mobile Market Review. This could examine planning reforms to accelerate the rollout of new network equipment, to increase the availability of spectrum (the radio waves that enable mobile coverage), and consider removing the Annual Licence Fees currently paid by operators to use spectrum. There are also massive opportunities for the UK to accelerate the digitalisation of public services and to support SMEs to make the most of new digital opportunities.
We should also recognise that achieving 99% 5G+ coverage, while an important milestone, will not by itself resolve every challenge around mobile coverage and capacity. Targeted interventions will still be required to address specific issues, such as improving connectivity along railways.”
The operator added that their new “network has been built to deliver up to 100 times more capacity than 4G connectivity – making it significantly better at handling demands from lots of devices at once – delivering more reliable mobile internet in busy areas“.
Device compatibility is of course still an issue for 5GSA adoption, although such things will resolve themselves with time as consumers gradually upgrade – many modern Smartphones do now support it on EE’s network. But overall today’s announcement represents good news for consumers who will benefit from the increased performance that 5G+ brings, particularly in urban areas.
On the other hand, we do wish these mobile operators would set geographic coverage targets too, which are much less forgiving than “population” figures. There was a time when EE believed this too (here), but in recent years they seem to have forgotten all about that.