British mobile network operator (MNO) EE has unveiled new details of its planned investment in rolling out 5G nationwide, saying it expects to reach ‘hundreds of rural communities across the UK for the first time’. Meanwhile, the BT subsidiary has also outlined ‘a series of new innovations that will boost the range, resilience and energy efficiency of mobile connectivity in the years ahead’. With the MNO reporting that its 5G network currently reaches ‘nearly every major UK town and city as well as over 60% of the population’, it has set out its stall to expand coverage into more rural populations. As per its plans, around 500 smaller communities across the country are now said to have access to 5G, bringing the total number of UK cities, towns and villages where customers can access EE 5G to more than 1,000. As part of its rollout, the cellco has said its 5G network will also reach National Parks and popular rural tourist destinations, with the Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire Coast and The Broads named as the first National Parks where the mobile broadband technology will be deployed. It says its investment in rural coverage is part of a commitment to deliver a 5G solution anywhere in the UK by 2028.
EE has also revealed that its 4G network is on track to pass 90% of the UK’s geographic landmass by the mid-2020s thanks in part to the investment made in network infrastructure in line with its commitment to the Shared Rural Network (SRN). According to the operator, its ‘founding 4G network stretches more than 2,500 square miles further than the nearest challenger’, while the MNO claims to have added 4G coverage to nearly 50 new locations every single month over the past three years.
Commenting, BT Group’s Chief Security and Networks officer, Howard Watson, said: ‘The network rollout progress announced today is a critical step toward meeting our goal of enabling a 5G connection anywhere in the UK by 2028. The strength of our underlying 4G network, thanks in part to improvements made under the Shared Rural Network, has put us in the best position to make widespread 5G coverage improvements outside of big cities.’
Source: https://www.commsupdate.com/articles/2023/02/10/ee-outlines-rural-5g-expansion-plans/