3UK on Tuesday revealed that more than half of its subscriber base now use 4G, up from 42% in February.
In its latest performance update, the country’s smallest mobile operator by customers announced that its active subscriber base reached 8.81 million at the end of June, up from 7.99 million a year earlier. That would put its 4G customer base at more than 4.4 million by 30 June this year.
"We continue to focus on giving our customers the best possible experience. Our network is already providing a quality, reliable service to customers and this will be further enhanced in the next six months with the introduction, for the first time, of our low frequency 800-MHz spectrum," said 3UK CEO Dave Dyson, in a statement.
In April, 3UK announced plans to deploy LTE in the 800-MHz band in September.
The propagation characteristics of 800-MHz spectrum will help the operator to increase coverage – particularly indoors – more cost-effectively than if it were to rely solely on airwaves in higher frequency bands.
Meanwhile, 3UK also revealed that more than 2 million customers have taken up its Feel At Home offer, which scraps roamin g charges in 18 countries. In addition, 1.2 million customers now use Three inTouch, its free WiFi calling and text app.
On the financial side, 3UK generated revenue of £1.07 billion in the first six months of 2015, up from £974 million in the first half of 2014.
Pretax profit jumped 63% year-on-year to £200 million.
"Our performance in the first half has been built on the strength of our network and the plans and benefits we provide. We passionately believe that financial success starts and ends with providing the best possible customer experience and fixing industry issues like unfair roaming charges," said 3UK CFO Richard Woodward.
The figures were shared the same day that 3UK parent CK Hutchison published its first half results.
