Britain's 4G coverage expands as EE announced that it now has nearly 3 million 4G customers and reached the 200th town for its coverage.
In its first-quarter earnings report for 2014, EE says that up to 889,000 new customers have signed up for the service, increasing the total number of 4G customers to 2.9 million. Around 5,100 of these new customers are corporate clients, which include big names such as Fujitsu, NEC and Europcar.
Rhyl in Wales is the 200th town to receive 4G, while 20 other cities now enjoy double-speed 4G.
EE said it was fast on track to meet its goal of obtaining six million new 4G customers by the end of 2014. Around half of all the firm's new and returning customers opted for 4G instead of the less expensive but slower 3G coverage.
"Speed-tiered price plans based on network differentiation [are] driving growth in average access fees," said EE in its earnings press release.
However, despite the rosy prospects for EE's 4G division, the firm reported a slight decline in revenue, which slipped 3.6% to £1.55 billion or $2.61 billion from last year's turnover. EE attributes this to increasing mobile termination rates and diminished roaming prices.
EE's customer base went up to 30.7 million users at the end of the first quarter, with 3.66 million customers in its Mobile Virtual Network Operator division. However, the firm saw a decrease in its prepaid customer base, which was left by 321,000 customers as more and more users are shifting from prepaid to "pay as you go to term" contracts.
"We are delivering strong, consistent commercial performance and continue to successfully create value through our award-winning network. We signed up nearly 900,000 customers in a single quarter, with over one in four new customers opting for EE's exclusive double-speed 4GEE Extra plans. In line with our vision to provide the best network and best service, we're also further improving customer service across all channels to support our long term growth," said EE chief financial officer Neal Milson.
However, in Ofcom's latest customer satisfaction report released in December, EE ranks as the most complained about broadband services provider in the UK, generating 0.45 complaints for every 1,000 customers, a figure which is double the national average.
EE, which is jointly owned by France's Orange and T-Mobile's European arm, is the first company to offer 4G in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's biggest provider of 4G coverage, owning a massive share of the market at 72% or 46 million customers, while its competitors O2, Vodafone and Three find ways to capture what is little left of the market by offering promotions and giveaways.
