BT Group has announced that its EE 5G+ network now covers over 80 per cent of the UK population, bringing its most advanced mobile connectivity to more communities across the country just over two yea...
BT Group has announced that its EE 5G+ network now covers over 80 per cent of the UK population, bringing its most advanced mobile connectivity to more communities across the country just over two years since launch. Customers are also increasingly taking advantage of the technology, with 5G+ now carrying more than 10 per cent of all data traffic across EE’s network, double the level a year ago.
As 5G+ coverage and usage grow, BT is also investing in technologies that could take the network further, including plans to bring AI-RAN out of the lab and onto EE’s live network for the first time in 2027.
The latest places to benefit from 5G+ include Bicester, Chester and Durham in England; Portrush and Strabane in Northern Ireland; Neath and Penarth in Wales; and Greenock, Alexandria and parts of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park in Scotland – with EE remaining on track towards its ambition for 5G+ to cover 99 per cent of the UK population by the end of March 2030.
BT is also looking at how AI could make mobile networks more responsive to customers’ needs, building on how the technology is already helping to optimise and protect the network for customers. Working with NVIDIA and Nokia, BT plans to bring its first AI-RAN sites online in Birmingham in 2027, moving the technology from laboratory testing to its live EE network. If successful, AI-RAN could help provide faster data speeds, more consistent connections and allow the network to respond more intelligently as customer demand changes.
Greg McCall, Chief Security and Networks Officer, BT Group said: “We’re seeing real momentum behind 5G+ as we progress towards our goal of 99 per cent population coverage by 2030 – both in the pace of our rollout and in the amount of data customers are now using over the network. But reaching more people is only part of the story. We’re continuing to invest in making the network smarter and more responsive too, exploring technologies such as AI-RAN that could help us stay ahead of growing demand and deliver an even better experience for customers.”
BT is also increasing the capacity behind EE’s mobile network so that customers can continue to enjoy fast, reliable connectivity as data use grows. This includes recently setting a new benchmark for microwave capacity, successfully delivering its first 2.8Gbps microwave link, 40 per cent more capacity than its previous 2Gbps benchmark. Microwave links play an important role in connecting mobile sites into the wider network, particularly where fibre may not be the most practical option – for example in rural or semi-rural locations – helping to carry the growing volumes of data generated as customers make greater use of 5G and 5G+.
The deployment makes more effective use of EE’s existing spectrum alongside BT’s expanding fibre infrastructure, demonstrating how the two can work together to increase the capacity available across the mobile network. It also provides a blueprint for potential future high-capacity microwave deployments as mobile data demand continues to grow.
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