EE has named 17 additional towns and cities which will be covered by its 5G standalone network by the end of December.
First launched in September 2024, the network features a dedicated 5G core and is built on new, end-to-end 5G architecture which removes any reliance on older 4G equipment to deliver even faster and more reliable connections.
Customers wishing to use it must have a compatible mobile phone or tablet, plus an EE 5GSA-ready SIM card or eSIM as part of their monthly plan.
EE’s ambition is to make 5G standalone available to more than 41 million people by spring 2026.
The new locations set to benefit include Basildon, Bolton, Brighton and Hove, Colchester, Gloucester, Lincoln, Maidstone, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northampton, Oxford, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea and Telford.
Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer at BT Group, said: “We are building our 5G standalone network at an unprecedented pace to connect customers, communities, and the country to the most reliable and powerful mobile experiences.
“For those people wanting to get the most out of the newest 5GSA-enabled smartphones, they need the UK’s best 5G network to match and that’s exactly what EE delivers.”
Additionally, EE is set to deliver “a significant boost” to users across the UK after it became the first operator in the world to launch Advanced RAN Coordination (ARC) in its distributed mobile network.
ARC is a new technology that allows mobile sites near to each other to share capacity, boosting network performance without the need for additional masts.
The technology is already live on EE’s network in major cities including Manchester and Edinburgh and will come to London, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Belfast, Cardiff, Newcastle, Sheffield and Sunderland throughout the next year.
While all customers are set to benefit from ARC’s adoption, those using 5G standalone devices will see the biggest performance gains.
McCall said: “EE customers are the first in the world to benefit from this technology, with millions of them getting a huge boost to the 5G connectivity they rely on every day.
“By increasing capacity in this way, our customers will get faster speeds and an even more reliable experience instantly. It is a real game-changer and yet another example of how the nation gets a better network experience on EE.”