Big business backs 4G in Britain

Large organisations are among the early adopters of 4G mobile services, reports EE, the UK's most advanced digital communications company. Three months after the company launched the UK's first superfast 4G network, EE has signed up or is piloting 4G with multiple organisations, including Addison Lee, Foxtons, Gatwick Airport, Kier, Microsoft, Morrisons, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Sony Music, TNT Post and Urban Outfitters.

EE has set aggressive targets to bring 4G to more than 65 towns and cities by June 2013 (representing more than half the UK population), in a bid to boost productivity and innovation, and to cut costs for businesses in Britain. In the UK, six out of ten businesses (64%) are planning to roll out 4G within six months, according to a recent study by Arthur D. Little in association with EE 1. Once 4G has been introduced, more than three quarters (76%) of UK businesses are then looking to increase mobile working among employees.

These findings are supported by early adopters of 4G technology, such as Kier, Microsoft, Foxtons and Addison Lee. Kier is trialling 4G to reduce the set-up time for remote construction sites and to enable its design teams to work on-site. Once the trial is complete, Kier will look to roll out 4G across its sites as an alternative to traditional fixed connections.

Microsoft is also trialling the technology to see how 4G can provide business continuity for its mobile workforce, either by tethering to tablets or as a backup to wi-fi. Foxtons, London's leading estate agency, is using 4G to allow its agents to update the Foxtons property database remotely, while London's largest private taxi firm, Addison Lee, is testing 4G as a way to improve the passenger experience by offering an in-car superfast internet service.

Olaf Swantee, Chief Executive Officer, EE, said: "To see UK businesses already benefitting from 4G after such a short time is great news. Demand from small, medium, large and public sector organisations across the nation has been very positive since we launched 4GEE. We're proud to be already powering some of Britain's biggest and best known companies and are committed to delivering a superfast connection to many more by the end of this year."

Internationally, companies in the US, Europe and Japan have already capitalised on the benefits that 4G brings, according to Arthur D. Little. In the US, for example, 86% of 4G-enabled businesses say they each save 33 hours a week on average. Nearly half (47%) say 4G has saved their organisation money, with one company saying it has saved $100,000 (£62,000) so far with 4G.

Employees in 65% of these organisations now back up their devices remotely, while 61% now regularly make use of unified communications as a result of having 4G. Apart from productivity and cost gains, three quarters (76%) of 4G-enabled organisations in the US say the technology has helped them innovate and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

EE launched 4GEE on 30 October 2012, becoming the first company in Britain to provide 4G mobile services alongside fixed-line fibre broadband. Through an ongoing investment of £1.5 billion, EE continues to improve its 4G network and to build a more robust network for the UK compared to other 4G countries. 4G can deliver speeds five times faster than 3G. EE's superfast 4GEE service already covers a third of the UK population, and EE continues to improve its speed and reach 2.

EE provides medium sized, corporate and public sector customers with a range of dedicated 4GEE plans from an additional £3 a month on top of their existing or new package, as well as added services such as security and mobile application development. Data share plans are also available for these organisations, with the added benefit of increased spend control through reduced out-of-bundle rates for data. Spending caps range from £50 to £200.

Smaller companies are also turning to 4G to supercharge their business, with one in four new customers signing up to an EE 4GEE business plan. For example, Incerts, an education software developer, is now using 4G to demo its new educational app on iPads at speeds faster than the connection in its office.

For more information, please visit www.ee.co.uk.

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Notes to Editors

1. To download a copy of the study, please visit: http://business.ee.co.uk/ad-little

2. For more information, please contact the EE B2B press team at eebusiness@mcsaatchi.com or on 020 7544 3735

About EE

EE is the most advanced digital communications company in Britain, providing mobile and fixed-line services to 27 million customers, and is the first company in the UK to provide 4G mobile services alongside fixed-line fibre broadband.

EE is the company that runs the Orange, T-Mobile and EE brands in the UK.

Its 4G service will cover more than half of the UK population by June 2013 and EE continues to improve the speed and reach of the UK’s first 4G network. Its fibre service already covers 50% of the population.

EE's mobile service currently provides coverage to 99% of the population with 2G and 98% of the population with 3G.

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