4G by Christmas?

[Steve]

An announcement from EE today...

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE LAUNCHES EE

A new company, a new network, a new brand

• EE network switched on today
• EE’s new customer brand to launch in the coming weeks with pioneering superfast 4G LTE mobile services and fibre broadband
• EE’s superfast 4G service to launch in 16 cities by Christmas, covering 20 million people – a third of the population. Nationwide 4G roll out to accelerate through 2013 with 98% of UK population covered in 2014
• EE’s superfast fibre broadband service to reach more than 11 million households and businesses by end of year
• Over 700 EE-branded stores to open – more than any other operator
• Orange and T-Mobile customers to benefit from the UK’s biggest and best mobile network, and more stores than ever before

11th September 2012. London.

Everything Everywhere today announced the launch of EE – the UK’s most advanced digital communications company.

EE will become the new name of the Everything Everywhere business and its network.

EE will also be launched as a new superfast customer brand in the coming weeks. It is a brand born in the digital age, designed to serve both consumers and businesses, offering the UK’s only 4G mobile service and complemented by fixed-line fibre broadband.

The new EE brand will stand alongside Orange and T-Mobile. Together they will provide mobile services to 27 million people, now served by the UK’s biggest and best network.

Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE said: “Today we launch a new company, a new network and a new brand for Britain.

“Our plans to revolutionise the UK communications market with a faster network and an exciting new brand for the digital age are built on solid investment and a simple belief that customers deserve better.

“We look forward to connecting the country with superfast mobile speeds in the coming weeks, months and years.

“And it starts today, with the announcement of our new business, our new brand and a new digital infrastructure that our company, our customers and the country can be proud of.”

EE – superfast 4G and fibre

The EE customer brand will launch with 4G services for consumers and businesses in the coming weeks.

It will be the first brand in the country to offer a mobile 4G service – the pioneering new technology that offers superfast mobile internet at speeds typically five times faster than 3G speeds today.

EE will also launch a fibre broadband service to homes and businesses with fixed-line internet speeds typically ten times faster than today’s average broadband speeds.
It means that EE’s 4G customers will be the first in the UK to enjoy superfast speeds on their mobile and at home or at work.

With superfast 4G mobile, customers will be able to:

• Access the web on the go without waiting
• Download high-definition movies in minutes
• Watch live TV on the move without buffering
• Play live multiplayer games on the go
• Download large email attachments quicker than ever
• Make high quality video calls on the move

Four cities – London, Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham – are switched on today for the company’s engineers to begin live testing and systems integration, in readiness for the customer launch.

EE’s 4G network will cover a third of the UK population in 2012 – over 20 million people – and customers on the EE brand will also have access to the largest 3G network in the UK outside of the 4G cities. Further towns, cities and rural areas, will follow rapidly with 2013 population coverage to reach 70%, with 98% covered by 2014.

EE’s 2012 launch schedule will see 16 areas of the country connected to 4G by Christmas – the UK’s four capitals and twelve further major cities. The 16 cities are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Glasgow,
Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton.

EE will offer a range of state-of-the-art devices alongside its superfast 4G mobile network with more to be announced shortly. Today, EE confirmed it is to launch the following 4G devices:

Samsung Galaxy SIII LTE – with a 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED display, you can watch videos on your mobile like never before. Innovative Smart Stay automatically recognises when you are looking at the phone, maintaining a bright display for
continued viewing pleasure.

Nokia Lumia 920 – flagship Nokia Windows Phone 8 smartphone. Take bright, blur-free photos and videos in any light conditions with PureView technology – Optical Image Stabilisation and Carl Zeiss lens and view on a 4.5” PureMotion HD+ capacitive display.

Nokia Lumia 820 – colourful, stylish, innovative design, with a 4.3 OLED WVGA screen. Capture great photos and movies with an 8MP Auto Focus camera, with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash. Charge wirelessly without plugging in using a Wireless Charging Shell.

The HTC One XL – high quality entertainment and precision navigation combine in this handset, thanks to a large 4.7” HD touchscreen display. Full HD video, and front and rear facing camera let you capture crisp, vivid photos and movies in high
quality wherever you are.

Huawei Ascend P1 LTE – a powerhouse dual-core processor is packed in to this handset’s slim design. Take stunningly clear images or HD videos on an 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash and playback on the 4.3” high-res touchscreen.

Huawei E589 Mobile WiFi – hook up to five devices to the EE 4G network, making your existing phone, laptop or digital screen superfast even if they’re not 4G. Long battery life of up to 10 hours, enjoy 4G wireless broadband anytime, anywhere.

Huawei E392 Mobile Broadband stick – download and upload documents and files in super quick time on the go with this device. Make your laptop mobile and superfast, by hooking it up to the EE network. You’ll stay compatible with 3G too and seamlessly switch to the optimal connection.

EE’s superfast fibre broadband service will launch at the same time to complement the company’s superfast 4G mobile service. It will be available to 11 million households and businesses by the end of the year reaching two thirds of UK households and usinesses by the end of 2014.

Service, everywhere

The new EE stores – formerly Orange and T-Mobile shops – will serve customers of all three brands, giving them access to service and sales in twice as many locations as before.

More than 10,000 EE staff have been trained, and will offer specialist advice in store, on the phone and on-line. The company as trained its Customer Team staff to become experts in mobile operating systems, meaning its customers will get a specialist service, regardless of which device they use. It is the only operator to offer dedicated expertise based around device operating systems.

The EE network

With the Orange and T-Mobile networks now combined, from today customers will begin switching over to the new seamless EE network, the largest in the UK. By the end of the year, all 27 million customers will be using the EE network.

It means that Orange and T-Mobile customers can now get faster 3G service, with speeds of up to 21Mbps, and more coverage than ever before.
EE will also launch superfast 4G mobile and fixed-line fibre broadband services in the coming weeks. It will also offer standard broadband via ADSL in non-fibre areas.

Orange and T-Mobile customers

Orange and T-Mobile customers will continue to benefit from the best 3G and 2G mobile network.

It means that from today – and over the coming months – customers using Orange and T-Mobile will begin to see their phone signal indicator change to EE, whether they are on 3G or 2G, showing that they are on the UK’s biggest and best network. This is at no extra cost and there are no changes to their existing price plans.
Orange and T-Mobile plans will continue to be offered to new and existing customers, and Orange and T-Mobile customers will also be among the first to have the opportunity to access 4G through a move to the new EE customer brand.

For more information, please contact the EE press team
on: ee@nelsonbostock.com
0845 373 7070
Facebook.com/ee
Twitter.com/ee
YouTube.com/ee


About EE

EE is the company that runs the Orange and T-Mobile brands in the UK, and will be launching its new superfast 4G brand – EE – in the coming weeks. Its 4G service will cover a third of the population by the end of 2012 and its fibre service will be available to more than 11 million households and businesses by the end of the year. EE’s mobile service currently provides coverage to 99% of the population with 2G and 98% of the population with 3G.

About Everything Everywhere

Everything Everywhere is the UK’s largest communications company, providing mobile and fixed-broadband communications services to more than 27 million customers through the Orange and T-Mobile brands. It has invested over £15 billion since 2000 building Britain’s biggest mobile networks, and plans to invest over £1.5bn in the next three years to further improve its network and introduce fast 4G LTE mobile broadband services. Recognised for award-winning customer service, Everything Everywhere employs more than 15,000 people and operates over 720 retail stores across the UK. It has revenues equivalent to a FTSE 40 company and is backed by two of the world’s leading global communications groups, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, who are equal owners.

[Nigel]

It's just a matter of time......

Nigel.

[Steve]

Nigel,

I don't get what your message means?

I'm quite looking forward to the 4G WiFi hotspot EE seem to say there that they will be selling.. it is likely I can get one of those. Bob here already uses something similar but I think on 3G....I connected my WiFi ipad via it at a recent meet nr Heathrow.

It is weird how the French and German phone outfits seem to be leading the field here... wonder what happened to that old British firm, BT was it, not heard of them for ages, dunno what they do these days...

Steve

[Nigel]

I don't get what your message means?

It's just a matter of time before everybody offers it and everybody (apart from my Mum) gets it.

[Steve]

It's just a matter of time before everybody offers it and everybody (apart from my Mum) gets it.

Ah, I see!

I have to admit that I don't personally think Telecommunications stuff works like that in the UK these days.

There are various reasons why some folks have great services and some don't.... location can play a big part. For instance with this 4G service by Christmas, that is if you live in one of the major cities named by them etc. It being more widespread, even from that one newly named outfit, seems to be some years away.

No other outfit even has a license to use this technology in the UK it seems....and as I understand it Ofcom won't even auction those until 2013 etc etc.

By the time everyone is ready to go what's the betting 5G will be here...

Also... when a device says it is 4G that doesn't mean it will work with services like this one from EE. I suspect most items that claim 4G won't work with it.

That is one reason why the little WiFi hotspot systems are so neat... almost everything with WiFi can use 4G that way...

Whether it makes sense to use the EE WiFi Hotspot will come down to price. There will always be people around with more money than sense but it may be priced very well and be a massive hit... or it may be a niche product/idea with mainly the foolish paying out large monthly amounts for it. I'm hoping for the massive hit and great pricing scenario...

Most folks still don't have most things when it comes to telecommunications do they... Broadband is still all pretty mixed and muddled isn't it. I have ADSL here, and the best BT can manage on it here is 4mb... they tell me if I pay something like £45 a month they are now able to install their version of cable here.. Infinity...as it now runs to outside my home... but their estimated top speed for that is 69mb... where Virgin tell me I am weeks away from 100mb being switched on, and 120mb is to follow soon after that....at present this message is by a slow old 50mb link...

Steve