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EE delivers 5G+ network upgrades across UK, including ARC rollout

April 28, 2026

EE expanded its 5G+ connectivity across the UK, extending coverage to more than 50 million people since the start of 2026. The company also detailed network upgrades intended to improve performance and reliability in places with high demand.

BT Group, of which EE is a part, described its spending plan for UK network infrastructure, saying it would invest more than £40bn between 2020 and 2030. EE also said its 5G+ rollout had reached more than 610 towns and cities, which it said exceeded a prior spring 2026 target of 41 million people.

EE said 5G+ supports more reliable mobile internet and faster download and upload speeds, along with improved video call and gaming experiences at busy times and locations. To support capacity, EE said it reallocated its 2.1GHz (2100MHz) spectrum across more than 4,000 mobile sites, and planned upgrades to 5,000 more sites in the next few months.

EE also said it completed five carrier aggregation on its 5G+ enabled sites, enabling compatible smartphones and devices to combine five spectrum bands and deliver 10% faster download speeds on average. It further described ARC (Advanced RAN Coordination), saying mobile sites close to each other can dynamically share capacity in real time to boost network performance by 20% without additional masts, and said ARC was live in London and earlier deployed in Manchester and Edinburgh.

“This milestone shows the pace at which we’re building the UK’s most advanced mobile network,” said Greg McCall, Chief Security and Networks Officer at BT Group. “By expanding EE’s 5G+ coverage to millions more people and being the first in the world to launch new network technologies, we’re giving our customers more reliable and resilient connectivity in the places where it matters most.” EE said ARC would be available in Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, and Sheffield by the end of May 2026, and it set an ambition to deliver 5G+ connectivity to 99% of the population by the end of March 2030.