EE doubles 4G speeds for smartphone customers

EE smartphone owners will soon benefit from average 4G connection speeds of 20Mb in ten cities across the UK, the carrier has announced, doubling the previous speed the network claimed to deliver.

EE has confirmed it is doubling the amount of 1800MHz spectrum bandwidth dedicated to 4G from 10MHz to 20MHz. The move will increase capacity and provide customers with headline speeds of up to 80Mb, up from 40Mb previously.

The ten cities where the supercharged service will be available this summer are Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield, with plans to extend its reach at a later date.

Olaf Swantee, EE Chief Executive, said: "We are ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of the digital revolution.

“Having already pioneered 4G here, we're now advancing the country's infrastructure again."

Existing EE customers in locations where the speed is being doubled will pay no extra for the faster connections.

According to the UK’s sole 4G operator, 25 per cent of customers are signing up for 4G. The company is targeting 4G subscriber numbers of one million by Christmas.