EE launched the upgraded 5G network in September in the four UK capitals and a number of other metropolitan areas.
Standalone 5G is designed to boost mobile performance as it is built on new, end-to-end 5G infrastructure for the first time, while removing any reliance on older 4G infrastructure, and EE, which is part of the BT Group, has said the network also uses artificial intelligence to reduce power to parts of infrastructure when they were not in use and improve energy efficiency.
And EE has confirmed the 16 new locations being added to the standalone 5G network are Bury, Ashton-under-Lyne, Barrow-in-Furness, Barry, Birkenhead, Coventry, Dudley, Dundee, Newport, Nottingham, St Helens, Stockport, Swansea, Weston Super Mare, Wigan and Wolverhampton.
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With the extra locations, the firm said its standalone 5G network will cover an area of more than 21 million people.
EE has said it believes the technology will be the backbone of future services, as its better performance would be well placed to handle the growing number of AI-powered services, many of which require more energy and bandwidth to run smoothly.
The operator said customers could also see improvements in their phone’s battery life because of the improved energy efficiency of the network.
At the time of the launch, EE chief executive Marc Allera said the new network had been “designed to unleash the huge potential of a wave of AI-powered devices”.
“5G standalone is a new mobile network giving enhanced performance to customers from day one and unlocks game-changing new services of the future,” he said.
“It’s been built to handle the growing range of AI-powered devices, from smartphones to laptops, tablets and more.”