EE have announced that they will roll out the 700MHz band for use with their ultrafast 5G mobile broadband.
This is going to be done from October this year, with Redditch, Cramlington and Morecambe the first towns in the UK to benefit from this spectrum.
Ofcom auctioned off a very small part of the 700MHz frequency to Three, EE, Vodafone and O2 this year. The band which was normally used for UK Terrestrial TV is ideal for supporting a very wide range of geographical coverage.
The main reason for this is because the related signals tend to travel much further and they are also designed to penetrate better in buildings. However you won’t get as much spectrum when it comes to the lower frequency bands, and this means that you will only get a small improvement when it comes to mobile speeds.
This spectrum can be combined with some of the neighbouring bands, including 800MHz and 900MHz, meaning you will get a strong boost to performance. Rural areas are going to gain most from this but it is going to benefit more urban areas too.
How will you benefit?
If you are the type of casino player who likes to play Who Wants to be a Millionaire, or if you like to play fast-paced mobile games that require a good internet connection then you will certainly benefit from this.
Although you might not be able to stream video with much improvement right now, it’s safe to say when the service is in full swing you will surely be able to capitalise on the benefits it has to offer.
EE have stated that they fully intend to grow their coverage to 50% of the population in the UK in 2023. They have said that this is four years ahead of what the government have planned. The latter reflects the original quote, which essentially promised majority coverage in the UK by 2027. This was set in 2017. It was one of the main points that was brought to light in the Conservative Manifesto.
Director at EE
The director at EE has stated that they are always looking for ways to try and provide customers with the best possible experience when it comes to 5G. They want to enhance the coverage that they are able to provide and they are also trying to enhance the latest smartphones that are out there by giving them the chance to capitalise on much higher speeds.
The UK’s best network claim is of course, open to interpretation and debate. Even though EE come out on top quite a lot of the time, this doesn’t mean that they are absolutely the best network out there.
However they have said that they are going to do what they can to try and make sure that they pass the geographic reach of 4G by 2028 which is an ambitious but possible goal.