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Three’s 10 million UK customers currently consume an average of 6.8Gb of data per month
Three has announced an extensive network upgrade programme as part of its partnership with SSE Enterprise Telecoms, according to a company release.
The partnership will see SSE assisting Three UK to support its growth and expansion goals, as it looks to ready itself for the arrival of 5G.
“We are putting our network on the best footing possible to meet the current and future demands of consumers. Our customers use up to 3.5 times more data than the rest of the UK, a demand which is only going to increase as we move towards a 5G world,” said Bryn Jones, chief technology officer at Three UK.
SSE has begun providing fibre optic connectivity to 20 of Three’s core data centres, which form an integral part of its network footprint.
“The decision to select SSE Enterprise Telecoms to assist us on this journey was straightforward. Their knowledge and ambitions for UK connectivity were clear and made them the natural choice,” added Bryn.
Three has added 900,000 customers in the last 12 months, bringing its total number of customers in the UK to 10 million. Three claims that it’s average customer uses 6.8Gb of data per month, significantly higher than the UK average. Three predicts that this number will continue to rise sharply, especially as the country prepares itself for the roll out of 5G services, and is therefore focussing on upgrading the capacity and speed of its networks, in collaboration with SSE, to meet demand.
“Our continued investment has made us the go-to network provider to help UK businesses unlock their growth potential,” said Colin Sempill, managing director of SSE Enterprise Telecoms.
“As a connectivity provider, we understand how integral network infrastructure is to allow technologies like 5G to reach their vast potential. We’re excited at the opportunity to assist Three UK in its journey to bring unrivalled experiences to its customers while offering new connection options to our own.”
Three recently spent £151 million to secure 20MHz of 3.4GHz spectrum at Ofcom’s 5G spectrum auction. Following Three’s acquisition of UK Broadband, Three now holds 144MHz of 5G compatible spectrum, more than any other operator in the UK.
