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EE’s network proclamation put under the microscope after CEO kicks off coverage campaign.
It is time for the industry to "get clear on coverage," said EE chief executive Marc Allera this week, which means talking about network coverage in terms of landmass and not population.
To mark the occasion, the BT-owned operator switched on its 800-MHz spectrum at 700 cell sites across the country, instantly filling in 5,000 square kilometres of 4G notspots, and improving indoor coverage for half a million homes.
In the spirit of being clear on coverage, this is the sort of rallying cry that Total Telecom would expect from someone whose company is contractually obliged to reach a certain threshold of geographic 4G coverage under the terms of an emergency services network (ESN) deal it won in late 2015.
"From streaming music to making video calls, our customers use their smartphones wherever they go and tell us loud and clear that a 4G signal is no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a ‘must have’," Allera said.
It is particularly a ‘must have’ for policemen, paramedics and firefighters trying to do their job when they happen to be in the middle of nowhere.
The ESN contract requires EE’s 4G network to provide 97% coverage when the ESN starts operating towards the end of next year. Meanwhile, in an announcement back in April, EE revealed plans to provide 95% landmass coverage by 2020.
What’s with the different coverage targets? I thought the idea was to be clear on coverage?
An EE spokesman explained to Total Telecom that the discrepancy arises because ESN coverage is measured differently to the coverage of EE’s consumer 4G network. ESN coverage is measured in terms of road coverage, and the minimum required cell edge performance of the ESN is lower compared to the ‘consumer’ network.
Furthermore, some ESN sites will be used exclusively to carry emergency communications, rather than commercial traffic. For example, parts of the ESN network will see EE make use of satellite backhaul and a fleet of rapid response vehicles to improve coverage in hard-to-reach areas, at crowded events, or during a widespread power outage. It is unlikely these sites will be used for Snapchat messages.
So, by the time the ESN goes into operation, EE’s 4G network will indeed be capable of providing 97% coverage, but that drops to 92% when talking about the network that EE uses to deliver consumer mobile services.
So what happens when a customer is in the middle of nowhere and they need to dial 999? Are they covered by EE’s 4G network or not?
The answer to that is yes, provided you’ve got the right sort of handset. If you are going to get into trouble somewhere remote, you’ll be able to place an emergency call on the ESN, provided you have a VoLTE-capable phone that can connect to EE’s 800-MHz network.
Hopefully that clears up any coverage confusion.
Someone who could do with clearing up some confusion is the U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond.
In his Autumn Statement on Wednesday, he confirmed that the government plans to spend more than £1 billion on fibre infrastructure and 5G technology.
"My ambition…is for the U.K. to be a world leader in 5G," Hammond said, announcing that £740 million will be allocated to local councils to fund 5G trials and the rollout of ancillary fibre infrastructure.
How these trials will work exactly, and what constitutes 5G, remains unclear at this point, but I’m sure the government knows what it’s doing…
Finally, you may have noticed that Total Telecom has a new look. Hopefully the new design will help us to deliver an even clearer picture of what is happening in the global telecoms market.
Finally, finally, happy Thanksgiving to our friends across the pond, and good luck to anyone caught up in a Black Friday riot – may your bargains be bountiful, and your wounds heal quickly.
