EE has launched its fastest fiber optic broadband to date for UK customers, saying its new and improved service will deliver download speeds of over 1.6 Gbps (1600 Mbps).
This is a big step up from the 74 Mbps average speed that EE says it provides nationwide. Currently, EE’s Full Fiber plans offer speeds of up to 900Mbps, on par with plans offered by other providers such as BT and Vodafone.
The new service will be available in the same areas of the UK covered by EE’s current Full Fiber plans, which it says cover 10 million homes.
A spokesperson for the network provider said the new service will launch for customers in “late summer”.
Currently the fastest fiber optic broadband available in the UK is up to 3Gbps with Community Fibre, although its service is only available in parts of London and only offers Wi-Fi connections” from 400 to 800 Mbps”.
EE promises customers who upgrade to the new premium broadband plan that it will enable additional capacity on home Wi-Fi networks so more people can stream, download and game without bandwidth or speed suffering. . At this time, the company has not specified the cost of the plan or the exact date when it will be available for new and existing customers.
The fast service was announced along with a brand new “experience store” in White City, London.
“We are big believers in retail, but we also believe that retail needs to evolve,” said Marc Allera, CEO of EE, at the launch of EE’s new “experience store” in the Westfield White City shopping center in London. He said EE wants to become a brand that plays a much bigger role in the lives of its customers.
The store, which EE says is the largest telecommunications retail space in the UK, is equipped with smart home facilities, a games room, a coffee station and shared offices so that people can come and work. It also has a “digital spa” where employees can help customers learn more about digital detox and have a healthier relationship with technology.
Three similar stores will soon be launched in Manchester, Cardiff and Bluewater Shopping Centre.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
The BT-owned company also announced a new home Wi-Fi router called Smart Hub Plus (pictured top), which supports Wi-Fi 6, not the newer Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi standard. Fi 7. . This can be paired with the new Smart Wi-Fi Plus Wi-Fi signal booster or the new Smart Hybrid Connect, which can deliver a 4G signal to the home if wired fiber optic broadband is cut off.
These devices were designed by ZAG consultancy and designer Tej Chauhan, who has also worked with Lexus and Motorola.
EE said the Smart Hub Plus runs on newly built internal firmware, which means the company can provide the hardware with more frequent software updates over time. At launch, the Hub Plus will have network-wide Wi-Fi controls, including parental control options, but EE hopes you’ll eventually be able to direct the capability to specific devices on the network.
Christian Thrane, MD Marketing, said the controls will give people’s Wi-Fi network “a front-end,” and customers can direct the appropriate bandwidth to certain devices to ensure good connectivity.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
EE’s announcement comes a day after Vodafone and Three UK owner CK Hutchison said Vodafone UK and Three UK would merge to create the UK’s largest mobile network, pending regulatory approval.
According to Statista, EE is currently the largest mobile operator in the UK with a 28% market share. The merger would combine Vodafone’s 21% and Three’s 12% to form a 32% market leader.
The remaining operator O2 has a 26% share, with the rest shared among the country’s mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) whose service piggybacks on the major networks.
