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EE hits 3 million 4G customers and 200 towns

EE now has 2.9 million 4G customers as Rhyl becomes the 200th place in Britain to enjoy faster data.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Richard Trenholm

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EE is now in 200 towns and cities CNET

EE has signed up nearly 3 million phone fans to 4G, as the UK's first 4G coverage reaches 200 towns and cities.

In the first three months of the year, EE signed up 889,000 4G customers, taking the total number to 2.9 million people. Rhyl in Wales is the 200th place to enjoy 4G.

While faster 4G is great for data-hungry apps and tasks like streaming video or playing games, it also helps you do the simple things faster. Hence, Facebook and Google account for 30 percent of data traffic on EE's 4G network.

With these extra 4G mouths to feed, the proportion of money EE makes from data has climbed to 47 percent of the revenue EE brings in compared to this time last year.

EE was the first network to bring 4G to the UK, formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile's British operations. Half of Orange and T-Mobile customers renewing their contracts in Q1 2014 opted to make the step up to an EE 4G contract.

With roughly a year's head start over rival networks, EE's 4G coverage now reaches 72 percent of the population. O2, Vodafone and Three now have 4G services and are gaining ground, but have had to rely on promotions and giveaways such as free Spotify or Sky Sports subscriptions to challenge EE's superior coverage.