A MAJOR phone network has vowed to hand out free speed upgrades to millions of Brits across the UK.
As many as 17 towns and cities will get the boost by the end of the year.
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EE has promised two different types of upgrades that Brits will get access to.
The first is the broadest one, and is the rollout of EE’s 5G standalone service to 17 locations across Britain.
It means you’ll get better access to 5G, with EE promising that it’ll be available to 41 million people by the end spring 2026.
Here’s the full list of locations getting the 5G standalone upgrade:
- Basildon
- Bolton
- Brighton & Hove
- Colchester
- Gloucester
- Lincoln
- Maidstone
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Northampton
- Oxford
- Plymouth
- Poole
- Portsmouth
- Reading
- Southampton
- Southend-on-Sea
- Telford
They should all have it by December this year.
The second is an upgrade called ARC, which stands for Advanced RAN Coordination.
EE says that it’s first phone network in the world to offer the upgrade.
ARC is a way for local mobile sites to share their capacity in real time, which EE says boosts performance and reliability without having to build extra ones.
The mobile network says you’ll get faster and more consistent internet, especially in busy locations.
That includes train stations, high streets, and city centres.
According to EE, it’ll deliver three perks.
They include up to 20% faster download speeds, as well as smoother video streaming and more reliable connections at peak times too.
EE has already set ARC live in Manchester and Edinburgh.
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And the company says that in 2026, it’ll also come to:
- London
- Leeds
- Glasgow
- Liverpool
- Belfast
- Cardiff
- Newcastle
- Sheffield
- Sunderland
“As smartphones continue to evolve, so does EE,” said EE mobile boss Malcolm Cubitt.
He said that the company was trying to unlock “smoother streaming” and “next-level gaming“.
EE PERKS REVEALED
What do you get with an EE contract
Here are some of the EE perks you might get with your plan, according to EE…
- Six months free Apple Music and Apple Arcade as well as three months free Apple TV+
- The ability to connect a smart watch to their existing plan for free
- A choice of additional lifetime plan extras including: Apple One (Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+), Google One AI Premium, Netflix, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and TNT Sports
- Inclusive EU Roaming, with calls, text and data allowances included at no extra cost. Those on a Full Works plan will receive EE’s Roam Further Pass on top, extending their allowance to places including Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand
Picture Credit: EE
It comes at a good time: Apple is expected to announce its new iPhone 17 later today.
And just last month, the new Google Pixel 10 Pro dropped around the world.
