British mobile operator EE reaches 2 million 4G customers
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's EE said 2 million customers had signed up to 4G, 14 months after it launched the country's first superfast mobile broadband service and just four months after it passed the 1 million milestone.
The company, a joint venture between France's Orange and Deutsche Telekom, said the sign-up rate was the fastest in the world outside of South Korea.
Britain's telecoms regulator allowed EE to launch superfast mobile broadband ahead of its rivals by reusing its existing airwaves, a move which finally kick started 4G in the country.
Rival operators Telefonica's O2 and Vodafone started their own services in August last year after they bought new spectrum earlier in 2013.
Take-up of 4G is being driven by rocketing demand for mobile data. EE said average data use across its network grew by 70 percent last year, with social media and video driving the biggest increases.
Chief Executive Olaf Swantee said EE was having particular success in converting its existing subscribers to 4G, with about two thirds coming from its Orange and T-Mobile brands.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)
