EE launch new 4G+ home mobile broadband deals

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Available nationwide from today, the 4GEE Home Router is being targeted at customers who live in more remote, rural areas that don't have access to reliable superfast fixed line broadband.

EE claim that the router can connect as many as 32 devices with real world download speeds in reach of 90Mbs, yet its various deals come with data caps, as well as price tags that are relatively expensive compared to home broadband packages.

Still, given the impressive superfast speeds on offer, the new router suggests a way in which the universal service obligation (USO) - which will guarantee access to speeds of at least 10Mb - can be achieved, all without having to rely on unreliable satellite broadband.

4G+

For tech buffs, the 4GEE Home Router is a Category 7 enabled wi-fi device, which in theory uses two spectrum bands to provide ultrafast download speeds of 300Mb and upload speeds of 100Mb.

In practice, however, EE are saying that it will be capable of delivering speeds to customers of up to 90Mb, which is still well in advance of what most fixed line broadband packages supply.

They're also saying that their 4G+ speeds are already available in just over 150 towns throughout the UK, having had ample to spread outwards after first being brought to London in 2014.

What this means for those interested in the new router, besides indicating the availability of its highest speeds, is that it can be taken by its owners all over the country should they ever move house, since it's fully portable.

And given that EE have committed to cover 95% of the UK's land mass with their 4G network by 2020, around 99% of the population will be able to use the new router in three years' time.

Taken together, this all makes the new router an attractive alternative for the 900,000+ homes that lack access to speeds of at least 10Mb, with EE's MD of Marketing, Max Taylor, affirming, "Our new 4GEE Home Router provides customers with a great alternative to fixed-line broadband ... it's ideal for customers with slower fixed line speed or people who regularly move house and need instant Wi-Fi connectivity".

Prices and data caps

That said, there are two slight catches to the 4GEE Home Router, with the first being the existence of data caps.

In contrast to most fixed line broadband packages these days, none of the 4GEE Home Router deals - which all run for 18 months - come with unlimited data. This is somewhat unfortunate, especially given that the faster download speeds imply that customers might be downloading more than those on slower connections.

Added to this, even though none of the packages are unlimited, they're generally more expensive than many superfast fixed line packages that don't place caps on data usage.

Source: EE

As shown above, the 200GB deal comes in at £100 a month, a price which is even in excess - £40 in excess - of the standard monthly subscription fee of Hyperoptic's 1Gb fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP).

And in light of how customers in particularly remote areas may struggle to get speeds of 90Mb, it comes across as particularly expensive.

The USO

That said, the comparison with Hyperoptic is largely unfair, since EE's 4GEE Home Router will cover formerly underserved areas and be accessible to 99% of the population. By contrast, FTTP fixed line broadband is still only available to 2% of the UK's premises, and concentrated mostly in densely populated urban areas.

This contrast goes to show why EE's new router could be a viable element in realising the UK's USO, which aims to guarantee speeds of at least 10Mb to the entire country by 2020.

In fact, since BT have vowed to achieve the USO by themselves, and since EE are owned by BT, it's very likely that such mobile broadband products as EE's will be rolled out in order to achieve it.

And since mobile broadband is generally more reliable than satellite broadband - which had previously been mooted as the means of covering the last remaining 1% and 2% of the UK - it's therefore a positive development that EE have launched their new 4GEE router.

Because with products like it, many people in the countryside can finally enjoy speeds that would be the envy of many urbanites.