EE Doubles U.K.’s 4G Data Speeds, Announces New Pay-For-Speed Plans

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EE, currently the United Kingdom’s only 4G LTE provider, has just announced that it will double its 4G speeds in 12 cities starting tomorrow, July 4. The carrier says that the average connection will increase to between 12 Mbps and 30 Mbps, which is twice the average speed of home broadband in the U.K.

EE has also announced new “pay-for-speed” plans that will allow customers to pay higher fees for faster connections from September.

The first cities to see EE’s new speeds tomorrow include Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. All 500,000 of the carrier’s existing 4G customers will be automatically upgraded at no extra cost — until the end of their current deal.

“Our new double-speed 4G technology means that we have the biggest, fastest and best network in the UK, and now the equal fastest in the world,” said the EE chief executive, Olaf Swantee.

However, new customers may have to pay more, depending on how fast they want their 4G connection. From September, EE will allow customers to pay different prices for different speeds — a first for a U.K. monile provider.

So if you want 4G, but you don’t necessarily need it to be as fast as possible, you’ll pay less than those who want their data as fast as they can get it.

EE has also announced the U.K.’s first shared data plans, which will allow customers to use their data allowance on both their smartphone and their tablet with just one plan. The plans cater for up to five devices, which can be shared among family or friends, at a cost of £12 per month, per device.

  • SourceEE