The UK telco’s LTE infrastructure reaches 95% of overall population
U.K. operator EE ended the fourth quarter of 2015 with more than 14 million LTE subscribers, following a net addition of 141,000 postpaid subscribers during the period, the company said in its earnings statement.
The operator said its LTE coverage reached 95% of the U.K. population at the end of 2015. EE previously said it expects its LTE network to reach 99% population coverage by 2017.
EE’s operating revenue for the quarter was £1.51 billion ($2.18 billion), flat year-over-year. Revenues from mobile services totaled £1.38 billion, down compared to £1.41 billion in the same quarter the previous year. EE’s capital expenditures for full 2015 reached £594 million, flat year-over-year.
“2015 was an exceptional year for EE, as we met and exceeded 4G targets, won multiple awards for our network performance and improved our customer satisfaction scores,” EE CEO Marc Allera said. “As part of BT, we’re entering the next chapter of EE’s journey, and look forward to a phenomenal opportunity to innovate for the benefit of our customers, while continuing to build and enhance the U.K.’s digital infrastructure.”
Last month, BT confirmed the completion of its £12.5 billion acquisition of EE, which was previously controlled by Deutsche Telekom and Orange. In return for their stakes in EE, Deutsche Telekom and Orange received £3.46 billion in cash and shares. After the completion of the acquisition the German telco now owns 12% of the new company while the French firm controls 4%.
Du’s preliminary 2015 revenues up 0.8%
The United Arab Emirates’ second-largest operator Du said its preliminary full-year revenues rose by 0.8% to Dh12.34 billion compared to Dh12.24 billion in 2014
Du commercially launched LTE services on 1800 MHz in June 2012, and also tested voice over LTE on its commercial LTE network in August 2014.
Founded in 2007, the Arab telecom operator serves more than 7.5 million individual customers and over 80,000 businesses in the UAE. Du also provides carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters.