EE has big ambitions for its 5G+ service – which is what the network is calling its 5G Standalone network – as it plans to bring this to 99% of the UK population by 2030.
5G Standalone is a type of 5G network that doesn’t rely on any legacy 4G infrastructure, making it much faster and more reliable than non-standalone 5G (which most of the UK’s 5G connections still are).
But while this is an ambitious goal, it’s one that EE is already well on the way to, as the network previously revealed that by the end of August 2025, its 5G Standalone network would reach more than 34 million people – accounting for more than half of the UK population.
So in other words the network has given itself just under five years to now deliver 5G+ to most of the just under 50% of the population that don’t already have access to it.
Still, while around 10% population growth a year might not sound that tricky, it’s worth noting that EE will so far have focused on urban areas with a high population density, so it can bring coverage to a lot of people with relatively little effort or expense.
A rural requirement
But to reach 99% coverage it will need to start bringing 5G Standalone to far more rural areas, where people are more spread out, and more infrastructure is therefore required to reach them all.
So this aim is undoubtedly ambitious, but it sounds like if anything EE’s 5G+ roll out is only ramping up, as the network installed 500 outdoor small cells this year alone, and it plans to install hundreds of Ericsson’s triple-band AIR 3284 5G units before 2030, with each of those units said to provide up to four times more capacity in the area they’re installed.
So we’re hopeful that this 2030 goal is realistic, because if 99% of the UK really does have access to 5G Standalone by then, it could prove transformative for a lot of people – especially those who are currently stuck with slow or unreliable connections where they live.
