EE Turns On 4G LTE Coverage In Additional UK Markets

It’s no surprise that EE is a pioneer in not only bringing 4G LTE devices to the UK, but bringing 4G LTE coverage to various markets and areas as well. Today the wireless carrier has announced it is flipping on the 4G LTE switch to the following markets in the UK: Bradford, Chelmsford, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Leicester, Luton, Newport, Reading, Rotherham, St Albans, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield, Walsall, Watford, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton. That means those of you living in one of those cities will finally be able to enjoy the true 4G speeds from today. In addition, EE has also announced a major enhancement to its existing 3G HSPA+ by upgrading its 3G pipeline to a dual-channel HSPA+… also known as DC-HSPA+ for short. The DC-HSPA+ upgrade should be ready by the end of this year and should be available to approximately 40% of all EE, Orange & T-Mobile customers with a compatible handset.Now if we can only do something about those steer 4G LTE prices, customers will really be in business. 

EE Announces Additional Rollout Of 4G LTE Service To 11 Additional Markets

It’s no secret that 4G LTE has been a luxury only to a select few in the UK, but now more customers will be able to get in on the action thanks to wireless carrier EE. It has announced it will launch the incredibly fast network service to its customers in 11 markets including Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton. While that’s a major start, EE doesn’t stop there as it has announced it plans to bring 4G LTE service to an additional 5 markets by year’s end. This means that those of you who plan on owning the Galaxy S III or HTC One XL will have a lot to look forward to— especially since you’ll likely be taking advantage of cutting edge features like streaming high-quality audio or video and the ability to access much more content or download faster on the go.

UK 4G ready for widespread rollout after agreement between regulators, providers

Several UK mobile network providers, the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom, and other government officials have announced a deal that will accelerate the rollout of 4G LTE services throughout the UK. The settlement means carriers like O2 and Vodafone will likely be able to start deploying their 4G LTE networks in early 2013, about six months earlier than originally thought.

UK carrier EE was previously granted permission to use some of their existing 1800 MHz spectrum for 4G LTE network purposes and they were expected to start that rollout this fall. However, other UK carriers like O2 and Vodafone had been threatening to launch legal action claiming the permission to use the spectrum for 4G services was improper and that EE was being given an unfair advantage. Ofcom has now agreed to accelerate the approval process for 4G LTE services for other carriers after a planned January action of old analog television spectrum occurs in January 2013.

With the agreement, EE is anticipated to announce the imminent launch of their 4G LTE network. They have indicated they have plans to deploy the service to 16 UK cities before the end of the year and to 98% of the UK by 2014. Other carriers will be behind with their deployments which should now occur sometime in early 2013, but with the agreement the head start that EE gets will not be as great.

The settlement means the UK will be able to start to catch back up to other countries that already have 4G LTE services well established. As Ed Richards, Ofcom’s chief executive notes, consumers are the big winners as they will not have to wait for “a considerable period for the next generation of mobile broadband services.”

Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE hits Everything Everywhere October 15th

The United Kingdom’s first 4G LTE carrier, Everything Everywhere, has announced that it will be receiving the Samsung Galaxy Note II. The 5.5-inch beast will join the carrier’s other LTE-capable handsets, including the Samsung Galaxy S III and Huawei Ascend P1 LTE, which are both available beginning today. Customers interested in the Note II LTE, however, will have to wait until October 15th to get their hands on the device.

While the Samsung Galaxy Note II LTE will have access to EE’s newly introduced 4G LTE network, there’s no word on when exactly the new service will officially launch. This means users who sign up for a new contract will have to do so under an Orange or T-Mobile plan, and then proceed to switch to Everything Everywhere once its LTE network is ready. Pricing remains a mystery, though its expected to set you back a pretty penny when it’s all said and done.