Study finds EE's LTE network performance lives up to expectations

Tests conducted in Liverpool of EE's LTE network indicate the technology is living up to the download speed promises made ahead of launch, according to a study conducted by wireless testing company RootMetrics.

RootMetrics tested EE's LTE network speeds in Liverpool and other UK cities. 

The RootMetrics study, which included more than 95,000 separate tests across EE's LTE network in the UK cities of Liverpool, Cardiff and Sheffield, reveals that download speeds of between 8 Mbps and 12 Mbps are normally available to subscribers, according to Uswitch.

RootMetrics, which provides interactive coverage maps for many operators around the world, said the EE network is achieving average downlink speeds of 11.8 Mbps in Cardiff, 9.4 Mbps in Liverpool and 7.9 Mbps in Sheffield, in line with EE's initial estimates.

RootMetrics CEO Bill Moore said EE's LTE network has lived up to its own promises. "Speeds are meeting EE's pledges and indoor performance is reasonably good," he told Uswitch.

"At the same time, the technology is more powerful than the bar that has been set, and there should be room for further improvement," he added.

But RootMetrics also identified significant regional variations in availability of EE's LTE service between cities. Within the city centres, the company was able to make and keep a LTE session over 71 per cent of the time in Cardiff, compared to 58 per cent in Liverpool and 48 per cent of the time in Sheffield. The analysis firm claims these results are in line with similar LTE deployments in the United States, according to TechWorld.

However, EE has yet to reveal how many customers have signed up to use its LTE service, albeit the operator has said it is testing LTE with multiple enterprises.

The company has also announced the second phase of its LTE roll out that will cover 27 UK town and cities. The phasing of this launch will come at around the same time as its rivals Vodafone, O2 UK are 3UK expected to begin launching similar services following the ongoing LTE spectrum auction.

For more:
- see this RootMetrics website
- see this Uswitch article
- see this TechWorld article

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