EE announced on Wednesday that its 4G subscriber base has reached 10 million, putting it well on course to meets its target of 14 million by the end of 2015.
If 4G uptake and data use continue to grow at the current rate, EE said its 4G network will carry one exabyte of data – equivalent to 1 billion gigabytes – per year by 2018. This represents a tripling of data compared to today, and 16 times more than EE’s 3G network carried in 2012.
"EE pioneered 4G in the U.K. and we’re determined to keep the country at the forefront of innovation," said EE chief executive Olaf Swantee, in a statement.
EE also shared the findings of its latest Mobile Living Index – a report on traffic volume and data use on its networks – which revealed that 4G traffic has now overtaken 3G traffic.
The growth is being driven predominantly by video and social media, which ac count for 28% and 23% of data traffic respectively.
Indeed, m-health is proving popular, with more than a quarter of EE customers using some sort of health-related app, from calorie counters to blood pressure monitoring.
EE also surveyed its customers and found that two thirds would like to be able to manage prescriptions using a mobile device, while nearly half said they would happily conduct video consultations with their doctor rather than visit the surgery in person.
"Healthcare…looks set to be transformed by access to superfast 4G," said Swantee.
