London,
17
May
2021
|
08:28
Europe/London

EE boosts mobile coverage across London’s rail network as commuters and visitors return to capital

  • EE builds nearly 70 new 4G mobile sites, with hundreds more planned, to improve coverage along London’s key commuter rail routes as workers start returning to the office
  • Data speeds boosted at the capital’s busiest stations, with mobile network capacity doubled at London Euston and London Liverpool Street
  • EE completes first phase of coverage improvements on HS1 line, ahead of delivering coverage in all tunnels later this summer
  • EE remains number one mobile network on key London routes, with highest 5G availability in the city

EE has today announced significant upgrades to its mobile network across key commuter routes in and out of London. In the past year, EE has built nearly 70 new 4G sites and upgraded dozens more across multiple lines in London to provide an unrivalled mobile experience to workers and visitors returning to the city.

EE has improved connectivity on seven sections of the route between London Euston and Birmingham New Street and six between London Victoria and Brighton. Other lines to see upgrades include London Paddington to Reading, and London Liverpool Street to Chelmsford. The improvements across all lines build on EE’s existing performance leadership across all eight commuter routes tested by RootMetrics last year*.

EE has also boosted performance on key lines used by travellers to and from the UK ahead of any easing of restrictions on international travel this summer. This includes the first in-tunnel 4G coverage on the HS1 line between St Pancras International and Ashford International, which will be extended to deliver coverage throughout all tunnels later this summer. Improvements have also been made on key sections of rail lines to London’s Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick airports.

In addition to boosting connectivity on commuter routes, EE has upgraded its mobile network in some of London’s busiest rail stations during the pandemic. EE has more than doubled its network capacity at London Euston, London Liverpool Street and City Thameslink stations, as well as enhancing its mobile network at London Victoria, London Kings Cross and Charing Cross. The upgrades will provide travellers with extra capacity to seamlessly stream, game or work whilst on the move.

David Salam, Director of Mobile Networks, EE said: “We’ve made huge improvements to key routes in and out of London to keep our customers connected as restrictions begin to ease and the number of workers and visitors returning to the city increases. Whether listening to music or podcasts, streaming the latest movies, or gaming with friends, our network has been built and upgraded to ensure seamless connectivity on commutes and at London’s busiest rail hubs.”

EE customers will continue to benefit from a recent contract renewal to provide connectivity on the London Underground platforms. Customers will also be able to access the free WIFI coverage which includes many underground station halls.

Work on the lines into the heart of London consist of 69 new sites and over 35 upgraded sites to date, and form part of wider efforts to improve mobile coverage across large parts of the UK’s railway estate. Station upgrades have been largely delivered over in-building DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) technology and in some cases reconfigured to work over 2 x 2 MIMO (multiple input multiple output) antenna which enhance performance.

- ENDS -

Notes to editors

*Rankings based on RootMetrics Transit Line RootScore Reports, 2020. Awards are not an endorsement. Experiences may vary. Visit www.rootmetrics.co.uk.

For more information, please contact:

Helen Line – helen.line@bt.com

Alexander Jackman – alexander.jackman@bt.com

About EE

EE runs the UK's biggest and fastest mobile network, offering superfast connections in more places than any other operator. EE brought the first 4G network to the UK in October 2012, and launched the UK’s first 5G network in May 2019.

EE has received extensive independent recognition, including being named the UK’s no.1 5G network by RootMetrics® in 2020 and 2021, and the UK's best network every year since 2014 for the following awards: The Mobile Choice Awards, The Mobile Industry Awards and by RootMetrics®.

As well as delivering mobile services to consumers, small and medium businesses, corporate customers and Government programmes, EE also provides home and business broadband using both 4G and fixed line connections.

EE is committed to being number one for service in the industry, and has nearly 600 shops across the UK. EE remains the only mobile provider to answer 100% of customer calls in the UK and Ireland and was recognised as the UK’s Best Large Contact Centre by the UK Customer Experience Awards 2018 and Welsh Contact Centre Awards 2019. EE was awarded The Sunday Times’ Best 100 Companies to Work for in 2018 and 2019, as well as being named Best Employer 2018 by the European Contact Centre & Customer Service awards.

EE is part of BT’s Consumer business unit which provides products and services to all of BT’s consumer customers in the UK.

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