EE, the U.K.’s largest 4G network, has officially extended its rapidly-growing home and office LTE broadband to cover parts of rural Cumbria in the United Kingdom. The operator claims that this latest expansion means that its service now covers more than 70% of the U.K’s entire population.

According to EE, its Cumbrian extension will provide over 2,000 local residents and businesses with access to its 4G LTE services, and, as a result, is launching new promotional prices for 4G mobile broadband designed to encourage Cumbrian’s to use LTE as their primary connectivity option, instead of a traditional wired connection.

Starting Friday, December 6 and ending Friday, January 31, potential customers in Cumbria will be able to purchase 20GB of data for just £25 per month, after which it will cost £30 per month. If they choose to add more data to their bundle, it will cost £7.50 for 2GB, £10 for 4GB and £15 for 10GB.

As this new rural wireless plan is targeted at broadband connections, EE is offering a Huawei B954 LTE Wi-Fi router which has high-gain internal antennas and is designed specifically to suit the needs of rural locations, with every sign-up for the one-off price of £69.99.

If you’re in any of EE’s 4G compatible locations, give the carrier a call today to upgrade to one of its LTE tariffs – I promise, you won’t be disappointed at all!

The full press release can be read below:

EE SWITCHES ON SUPERFAST 4G BROADBAND IN RURAL CUMBRIA

· Over 2,000 residents and businesses in rural Cumbria to have access to superfast home and office broadband for the first time, powered by 4G from EE

· New rural wireless broadband plan offers best value data package with 20GB for £25

· Roll out demonstrates economic advantage of using wireless technology to bring superfast broadband to rural Britain

· Government and regulatory policy that supports investment critical to advancing rural 4G roll out

Monday 11 November, 2013 – EE, the UK’s most advanced digital communications company, has switched on its expanded 4G network in rural Cumbria, bringing superfast home and office broadband to over 2,000 residents and businesses for the first time.

The rollout follows EE’s 4G commercial trial in the area of Threlkeld, where users experienced average speeds of 24Mbps. The network has been extended to cover more than 100 square miles, spanning from Wigton in the north to Threlkeld in the south.

New rural wireless broadband data plan
From 6 December, residents and businesses covered by EE’s 4G network in Cumbria will be able to sign up to a great value 4GEE wireless broadband data plan for their home or office, with a promotional offer of 20GB for just £25 per month*. Additional data bundles are available at 2GB for £7.50, 4GB for £10, and 10GB for £15.

The new wireless broadband plan comes with a home-based device for £69.99. Connecting to the new service is simple – customers just need to plug in the router and turn it on. The device, the Huawei B953, has high-gain internal antennas and is designed specifically to suit the needs of rural locations. It delivers a Wi-Fi broadband signal, just like a being connected to a fibre broadband network.

EE CEO Olaf Swantee said:
“Our goal is to enhance the digital lives of everyone in the UK, and this major expansion of our superfast broadband service in one of the most rural and geographically challenging areas of the country is a big step towards that goal.

“There is a lot of work to do in 2014 to reach more people and businesses in rural areas, and investment-friendly government policies have an important role to play in supporting this, but today we have proven that 4G has the capability to connect this country’s unconnected, and EE intends to continue to be at the forefront of that.”

Rural economics – 4G vs. Fixed
4G presents a new opportunity to enable superfast mobile broadband in areas where the provision of fixed services has been largely ruled out due to economic challenges.

The Northern Fells Broadband Group estimated that the cost of delivering superfast broadband to this area of Cumbria using fibre would be around £10m. The cost of delivering superfast broadband wirelessly using 4G is approximately 10% of this.

At the Cumbria network launch event taking place today in St John’s in the Vale, Olaf Swantee will highlight how 4G makes connecting rural Britain a possibility, and will detail some fundamental policy  considerations necessary to improve rural coverage in the final 10%:
· Reduction of the proposed spectrum Annual Licence Fees, currently set to increase for EE by £82m per year – the cost of delivering superfast broadband to an area the size of Wales
· Re-balancing of Government’s broadband funding to increase support for  wireless technologies for rural communities, rather than maintaining focus on fixed infrastructure
· Broad reform of the Electronic Communications Code to reflect the importance of mobile to users, and the challenges that mobile operators face in maintaining and upgrading networks

Future plans for superfast rural 4G mobile broadband
EE plans to roll out 4G across the rest of Cumbria (approximately another 100 square miles) by March 2014. By summer, EE also plans to bring 4G to Bodmin Moor in the South West of England, an area that has never been serviced with superfast broadband.

A year into the launch of its 4G network, EE already has 1.2million 4G customers, and a 4G network that covers approximately 60% of the population. As announced in October, the UK’s first 4G network is now also live in Carlisle, in north Cumbria – one of 131 towns and cities covered by the superfast mobile network.

EE’s  4GEE plans are available from £18.99 per month and offer data bundles up to 50GB. Last week, EE launched the world’s fastest mobile network in London’s Tech City, offering theoretical maximum speeds of 300Mbps. 4G from EE is being rolled out to meet the digital needs of all types of users, everywhere in the UK.