EE, the mobile operator under BT, provided an update to the network initiative it’s doing with three other operators to bring 4G to rural areas of the U.K.
Under the Shared Rural Network (SRN) initiative, the U.K.’s big four mobile network operators – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone – are on track to serve 4G across 95% of the landmass by 2025.
On Thursday, EE said that over the past year, it has built or upgraded over 500 4G sites across the U.K. as part of the SRN initiative.
In total, EE has upgraded 1,362 sites since the SRN deal was signed in March 2020, bringing improved connectivity to each U.K. nation. EE plans to deliver around 900 more upgrades to rural areas of the U.K. by 2024.
“BT is committed to ensuring that even the most remote areas of the country are connected. Despite a challenging economic environment, we’re continuing to invest in rural infrastructure to achieve that,” said BT Group Chief Executive Philip Jansen in a statement. “EE’s 4G has expanded by 500 square miles over the past year and we continue to be the sole provider of mobile services in many areas of the U.K.”
The operator pointed out that many of the upgrades are improving coverage throughout the U.K.’s roads, which should help travelers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland over the holiday season.
In the U.S., network sharing isn’t typically done beyond sharing space on cell towers. But UScellular CEO LT Therival has been talking about the need for network sharing as a way to reduce costs and get 5G deployed in more rural areas of the U.S. Unlike the big carriers that sold off their tower assets years ago, UScellular still controls more than 4,000 of its own towers.
During UScellular’s third-quarter earnings call, Therival said the company continues to engage in conversations about network sharing. In the long run, the concept of building out four or five duplicative 5G or 6G networks in rural areas of America doesn’t make a lot of sense economically, he said, but he had nothing specific to report beyond that.