Sixteen towns and cities across the UK, including seven in the North West, are set to benefit from a major upgrade in mobile connectivity as EE announces plans to roll out its 5G standalone network before the end of the year.
The North West locations are: Ashton-under-Lyne; Barrow-in-Furness; Birkenhead; Bury; St Helens; Stockport; Wigan.
EE launched its 5G standalone network at the start of September in 15 cities, including all four UK capitals and major metropolitan areas where it is most needed, including Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and Sheffield.
With these additional 16 locations – which include popular tourist destinations, commuter towns, and centres of industry – EE’s most advanced mobile network will cover an area of more than 21 million people, almost a third of the UK population.
EE has committed to delivering at least 95% outdoor coverage in every town or city where it launches 5G standalone to date.
Network performance data shows 5G standalone is already delivering a better mobile internet experience, with customers using the network benefiting from improved video calls, streaming and online gaming, both in and out of their homes – as well as higher quality voice calls even in congested areas.
This is because smartphones and tablets using 5G standalone connect directly to a pure 5G network, rather than via 4G, and benefit from the network’s additional capacity in busy areas and during major events, like sports matches and concerts.
Designed to optimise the performance of AI applications, EE’s 5G standalone products ensure cutting edge AI tools and services, such as Galaxy AI and Gemini AI, can connect seamlessly to the cloud to provide the smoothest and fastest experiences for customers.