EE's 4G Covers 94% of Roads in Great Britain

EEs 4G mobile network is now available on 322,000 miles of road in Great Britain, 94% of all roads on the island, the operator says.

Mobile data coverage on roads is essential for vehicle communication, navigation and infotainment.

However, Ofcom's latest Connected Nations report noted "very minimal improvement in mobile coverage from all operators on UK motorways and roads" over past year.

Within vehicles, 4G data coverage from all operators stands at 65% on motorways and A roads and just 50% on B roads. Outside vehicles, 4G data services from all operations are available on 89% of A roads and 82% of B roads, suggesting some motorists are having to exit their vehicles to access networks.

Ofcom did confirm that EE has retained its place as the best network for 4G coverage, with 85% geographic coverage. 

It's followed by Vodafone, with 82% geographic coverage, O2 with 80% and Three with 79%. However, EE seems to have made less progress in expanding its coverage recently than rivals. It adding just 1% of geographic coverage this year while O2 added 4% and Vodafone added 2%.

Additionally, EE, owned by BT, has fallen short of its stated goal of achieving 95% landmass coverage by December 2020. It currently claims 91% landmass coverage, using a different methodology than Ofcom.

Despite disruptions due to COVID-19, EE has so far built 160 new 4G sites in 2020: 92 in Scotland, 43 in England and 25 in Wales.

It also expanded its 4G footprint in every national park in Great Britain and now boasts 69% geographic coverage in the 14 parks.

Marc Allera, chief executive of BT’s Consumer Business, said: “Having access to a resilient and reliable mobile network has never been more important. Our 4G network covers more of the UK’s geography than any other, and we’re continuing to invest in it right across the UK to keep our customers connected and bring coverage to rural areas for the very first time. 

“4G forms the basis of our award-winning 5G network, and with this investment we’ll be able to roll out the latest mobile technology to even more parts of the UK.”

Those left behind by 4G networks, including those living in the 15% of landmass not coverage by EE's 4G, will have to wait a little longer for coverage. The £1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme will eventually enable network and mast sharing between the four mobile operators, taking the geographic coverage of each to 95% by 2025. However, the agreement, reached in March, is still too new to impact coverage this year.