It’s been a busy week for mobile networks in the UK this week. Hot on the heels of Vodafone and Three announcing their plans to merge, which would result in them becoming the largest mobile network in the country, the current largest network EE has revealed its fastest broadband to date – plus new hardware.
During its new flagship store opening, EE Studio in London – which is surprisingly cool – the company highlighted plans for a new range of supercharged home broadband services. The Full Fibre 1.6Gbps broadband offering will arrive to homes nationwide later this summer, alongside Hub Plus and Smart Hybrid Connect and EE has said it’s the fastest broadband offering in the country.
Currently, the fastest broadband in the UK is offered by Virgin Media with its Gig1 Fibre Broadband, which claims 1.13Gbps download speeds. Using EE’s new 1.6Gbps, you’d be able to download a 2-hour 4K movie (all 28GB of it) in about 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Or to put it another way, the 4.7GB of data a DVD will hold, could be downloaded in 23 seconds. That’s also going to appeal to those wanting to download games for the Xbox, for example, which sometimes drags on for ages.
The Full Fibre 1.6Gbps broadband is being introduced to try and deliver the “best in-home connectivity”. Getting geeky for just a second, the Full Fibre 1.6Gpbs service is built on a Gigabit+ capable full fibre network that uses a 1.8Gbps product in order to deliver those 1.6Gpbs speeds to your home. EE is claiming the service will offer seamless connectivity and extra capacity for more devices. It’s also said that it will deliver average speeds up to 44 times faster than the company’s SuperFast Fibre option.
EE
The Smart Hub Plus router that launches alongside the broadband offering is the company’s most advanced router to date and it will run on a new firmware platform built by EE. This platform will offer new Wi-Fi controls designed to improve your experience. Some of these controls include the ability to prioritise bandwidth when you’re working from home or gaming, as well as set advanced parental controls. Google Nest Wifi allows you to prioritise devices, which comes in very useful, especially during busy times. The Smart Hub Plus router will also pair with Smart Wi-Fi Plus, that is designed to connect all corners in your home and it is also made from 95 per cent recycled plastics.
Alongside the new broadband and hardware announcements, and the flagship store that not only has a gaming section but a Digital Spa too, there is a Smart Hub and Smart Wi-Fi offering joining the Smart Hub Plus and Smart Wi-Fi Plus to replace EE’s current portfolio. These will offering a couple of extra features like Digital Voice. All will support Smart Hybrid Connect, which enables EE’s broadband services to connect to EE’s mobile network as a back-up if needed, but if you want the 1.6Gpbs speeds from the new broadband, you will need the Smart Hub Plus router.
Pricing and availability of the Full Fibre 1.6Gbps service and range of hardware has yet to be revealed but we will update this piece once we hear how much the fastest broadband offering in the UK will set you back. It will be available nationwide wherever Full Fibre is available EE told us during the EE Studio launch. It’s said to hit around 10 million homes.
