EE PARTNERS WITH QUALCOMM ON WI-FI 7 NEXT-GEN HOME BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY FOR UK CONSUMERS

EE partners with Qualcomm Technologies as part of future plans to roll out Wi-Fi 7 technology to UK consumers
Collaboration will see Qualcomm Technologies supply the networking platform for EE’s next-gen home broadband Smart Hub
EE home broadband customers will be amongst the first in the world to get access to the next generation of Wi-Fi, set to launch in 2024
Move is part of EE’s plans to set the standard for home broadband in the UK as lead Consumer brand for the BT Group

EE today unveiled the first of its future strategic plans for its home broadband service as part of its ongoing ambition to become the UK’s most personal customer-focused brand. Partnering with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., EE will roll out new in-home hardware in the future that will feature Qualcomm Wi-Fi 7 platforms as part of its ongoing plans to deliver best-in-class home connectivity to consumers across the UK, enabling them to be amongst the first in the world to get access to the next generation of Wi-Fi.

Existing Wi-Fi standards such as Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 offer a great reliable experience for consumers today, with EE’s most advance router to date - the EE Smart Hub Plus, offering Wi-Fi 6 as standard. However, in the coming years technology use is expected evolve. Fuelled by multi-gigabit Full Fibre broadband, services such as cloud gaming, immersive AR/VR and 4K/8K video streaming alongside the average home doubling the number of Wi-Fi connected devices in the next five years we will see the demands on the in-home network continue to increase driving the requirement for new enhanced in-home solutions.

Backed by the experience and expertise of the world-leading BT R&D teams at Adastral Park, as lead brand for the consumer Group, EE continues to review new technologies for hardware, software and services it can offer consumers in the future. As a result, EE can ensure customers receive the same premium experience of today in the years to come.

Further to the companies long standing collaboration in the mobile space, EE has joined forces with Qualcomm Technologies, to expand this collaboration into the home with Wi-Fi 7 generation offerings bringing advanced wireless and service management capabilities. EE’s next-generation home broadband router will feature Qualcomm Wi-Fi 7 platforms which will greatly enhance the Wi-Fi experience.

Wi-Fi 7 brings a number of new and important features such as using the extra 6GHz channel with 320 MHz channel bandwidth allowing much broader capacity (Wi-Fi 6E is 160MHz), Multi Link Operation which allows data to be sent over multiple bands simultaneously and 4K QAM which offers up to 20% increase in peak data transmission performance.

Overall, this will allow EE customers to benefit from multi-gigabit Wi-Fi throughout the home with faster speed, less interference, more capacity and better performance to support the many high-bandwidth activities of the future and providing them with choice based on their needs.

EE home broadband customers will be amongst the first in the world to get access to the next generation of Wi-Fi, with the first EE Wi-Fi 7 router due to launch in 2024.

Marc Allera, CEO, EE: “We have a long history of collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies to create innovation in mobile for consumers - so we’re delighted to evolve this strategic collaboration into our in-home products for the first time. EE broadband customers will be among the first globally to benefit from access to a certified next-gen Wi-Fi 7 home hub - providing them with the cutting-edge of innovation in connectivity”.

Cristiano Amon, CEO, Qualcomm Incorporated “We’re very proud to partner with one of the leading innovators in this industry to drive the transition to next generation broadband technology. Expanding our collaboration beyond 5G to include our leading-edge Wi-Fi 7 platform is further evidence of our mutual and long-term commitment to transforming the ways UK consumers work, learn, connect and are entertained.”

Further detail on EE’s Wi-Fi 7 next-gen home broadband Smart Hub will be announced closer to launch.

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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