13 Sep 2017

EE refarming 10MHz of 2G spectrum to unlock new smartphones’ potential

EE is giving more than 600 of its sites across cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff a boost over the next six months by allowing them to use additional spectrum for 4G services.

This extra spectrum comes from refarming 10MHz of 1800MHz spectrum from 2G to 4G and will be used to further increase speeds and reliability.

The upgrade will allow the sites to support the next wave of mobile devices to hit the UK market, equipped with ‘Cat 12’ and ‘Cat 16’ modems, allowing new smartphone users to get the most from their devices.The programme of upgrades will also double the phones’ data upload speeds from the current maximum of 50Mbps to 100Mbps on more than 900 sites across the UK.

EE’s fastest mobile sites currently use 20MHz of 1800MHz spectrum, and 35MHz of 2.6GHz spectrum. EE has also invested in 4x4 MIMO, which sends and receives four signals instead of two, making the spectrum twice as efficient. EE is also rolling out 256QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) technology, which increases the efficiency of the spectrum.

Marc Allera, EE’s CEO, said: “We keep investing in our network, and using our technology leadership to make sure customers are getting the most out of the latest smartphones. Customers need to be on 4G, getting the best out of their new devices with the highest quality phone calls and the fastest mobile data speeds. We’re converting 2G into 4G, because that’s what our customers need. So, if you are choosing a new smartphone, the message is simple: there’s only one UK network that offers the best smartphone experience.”