EE is in a pretty good place right now. Not only has it been rated the UK’s fastest mobile network for the seventh year running in RootMetrics’ UK RootScore report, but it’s also been rated as the number one 5G network for speed and overall availability. This is crucial for a premium network that sells itself on cutting-edge technology and performance, particularly when it comes at a comparatively high price. If you must have the best and you’re prepared to pay the extra, EE is the reigning champ.
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EE review: What do you get?
EE isn’t ludicrously expensive, but it doesn’t go overboard trying to compete on price. Buy an iPhone 11 with 30GB of data on a 24-month contract and you’re looking at a total cost of £1,350; more than you’ll spend on BT Mobile, Three, iD Mobile, Sky Mobile or Virgin, though O2 and Vodafone are slightly pricier still.
Buy the mid-range Samsung Galaxy A51 and it will cost you £41/mth over 24 months with 40GB of data, where the same phone would cost you £27/mth for 50GB with iDMobile (plus £20 upfront) or £29/mth for 30GB with Vodafone. While EE does have some good deals on a handful of handsets, those wanting the latest at the lowest prices might want to either buy them SIM-free or sign up elsewhere.
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EE’s SIM-only plans are better value – or with the higher data allowances, at least. A 40GB/mth contract is a reasonable £25, while you can have 100GB or 200GB for £20 and £23 respectively, provided you’re happy to sign up for two years rather than one. At the lower end, the pricing makes less sense, and you could be paying more than double what you might on Three, Tesco Mobile or iD Mobile for 1GB to 3GB of data. Stranger still, Three, BT Mobile or Virgin Mobile will give you 25GB (or even 30GB) of data for less than EE charges you for 20GB.
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Still, EE throws in some nice extras for the money, including six months of free Apple Music and the ability to share any unused data allowance with another member of your family on a linked EE account. You’ll even get a 10% discount on each additional line.
What’s more, EE’s 4G and 5G Smart plans, as sold with specific devices, throw in benefits like a year’s free Apple Music or Apple Arcade, Amazon Prime Video, BT Sport Ultimate or a Video Data Pass. The latter means that any data used streaming on most of the popular video services won’t count against your data allowance.
EE SIM-only data plans – 4G |
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| Data | Monthly fee | Calls/Texts | Term |
| 250MB | £13 | Unlimited | 12 months |
| 1GB | £16 | Unlimited | 12 months |
| 3GB | £19 | Unlimited | 12 months |
| 20GB | £22 | Unlimited | 12 months |
| 40GB | £25 | Unlimited | 12 months |
| 100GB | £20 | Unlimited | 24 months |
| 200GB | £23 | Unlimited | 24 months |
EE SIM-only data plans – 5G |
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| Data | Monthly fee | Calls/Texts | Term |
| 60GB | £26 | Unlimited | 24 months |
| 100GB | £29 | Unlimited | 24 months |
| 200GB | £33 | Unlimited | 24 months |
| Unlimited | £37 | Unlimited | 24 months |
EE review: Coverage and connection speeds
As we mentioned, EE continues to be the speed leader of the major UK networks. RootMetrics’ latest round of testing (1H 2020) found it had the highest aggregate median download speed of 42.6Mbits/sec, putting it over 22Mbits/sec ahead of the nearest competitor, Vodafone. It’s fastest across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and placed first for speed and reliability in more UK cities and metropolitan areas than its competitors.
4G coverage is good across nearly all of the UK, with a few spots limited to 3G in coastal or rural areas or the Scottish islands and highlands. There’s also a growing 5G presence around most of the UK’s biggest cities, plus a few areas outside.
What’s more, RootMetrics’ most recent 5G research found that EE was the only operator active across all 16 cities where it tested, and also had the fastest 5G speeds, with median 5G download speeds ranging from 103.9Mbits/sec to 145.9Mbits/sec, and speeds in London reaching a maximum of 333.3Mbits/sec.
In short, whether you’re rocking a new high-end 5G handset or a budget 4G blower, EE is likely to give you faster speeds – and in more places – than any other UK network.
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EE review: Roaming
EE currently allows inclusive roaming within the EU plus other states within the European Economic Area, and EE promises that this won’t change even after the Brexit transition period ends in December. What’s more, customers on EE’s Smart plans can also use the Roam Further swappable benefit to access their data allowance in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the US. A Roam Further pass is also available to customers on other contracts, at the cost of £10/mth.
In both cases a fair usage policy applies, where you can use up to 50GB of any allowance while roaming, after which you’ll be charged 36p per MB.
Travel to other destinations and you can face some high costs. Making or receiving calls in the US, for example, will cost you £1.20 per minute, while sending texts will cost you 60p. You won’t be able to use data without buying a travel data pass, costing £4.80 to £6 for 500MB per day in some countries, and £6 per day for 150MB in others. It’s not hard to see the costs mounting up. If you’re a frequent traveller, other networks offer better deals.
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EE review: Other services and spending caps
EE has a handy Wi-Fi calling feature, where you can make calls and send texts over a Wi-Fi connection in places where you might not usually get a signal. This doesn’t actually save you money in the way that using a Voice over IP app like WhatsApp, Facetime or Facebook Messenger would, as both calls and texts come from your monthly allowance, but it can be useful if you live in a remote area or work in a basement office. The only catch is that it’s only supported on specific iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices bought directly from EE.
EE’s pay monthly customers can also use its Underground WiFI service on the London Underground, which is a definite bonus if you live and work in the capital.
One final benefit, if you’re buying for your family, is that EE also supports data caps. You can configure caps for any accounts online or by sending a text message, though this doesn’t cover add-on purchases or payments to certain premium numbers or subscription services.
EE review: Customer satisfaction
Ofcom’s latest customer service and satisfaction reports show EE in a pretty good light. 93% were satisfied with the service overall, and only 2% of customers had a reason to complain, putting EE behind O2 and GiffGaff but ahead of BT Mobile, Three and Vodafone. With seven complaints per 100,000 subscribers, it’s well below the average on Ofcom complaints.
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EE review: Verdict
You can easily go cheaper than EE, but you’ll struggle to do any better: it’s a great service with superb coverage and the fastest speeds of any UK network by a significant margin. If you have to question whether you need that level of performance, you probably don’t, but if you’re streaming HD video, using cloud-based gaming services or playing online games, then choosing EE will ensure that you can do so in more places, particularly if you’re lucky enough to have the option of 5G.
The post EE review: The UK’s fastest network, with or without 5G appeared first on abangtech.
source https://abangtech.com/ee-review-the-uks-fastest-network-with-or-without-5g/
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