Friday, December 6, 2024

EE SIM Only

The EE 4G network includes monthly contracts on selected phones and also 4G SIM only deals (with 5G in a small launch location to be widened in due course).

EE is the largest mobile phone network provider in the UK after it amalgamated the T-Mobile and Orange brands into the overall EE parent company so you will have the industry leading signal coverage in your area and a wide range of SIM only tariffs to choose from whether you are more in need of free inclusive call minutes or favour high amounts of free data there will be a plan for you.

What is 4G?

4G stands for fourth generation mobile network and is a new mobile phone network that runs on the 1800MHz frequency band and will offer incredibly fast Internet access and download speeds through your 4G enabled mobile device. The first 4G network to be offered in the UK is by EE which uses 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) and has a theoretical download speed of 100Mbps which rivals many of the fastest home broadband fibre optic connections available today, although in practice EE have suggested that realistic speeds that users should expect should be in the region of 20Mbps to 90Mbps.
4G Checklist

Before you consider purchasing a 4G SIM only contract you need to consider the following –

  1. Do I have a 4G compatible phone?
  2. Do I live in an area that has 4G coverage?
  3. How much data do I plan to use per month? See below for data allowances.

Happily you do not need to worry about going over your allowance of call minutes or text messages per month because generously, EE have included high levels of free calls and texts in their 4G SIM only deals!

EE SIM ONLY DEALS (12 MONTHS)

The 12 month SIM only deals from EE offer the best value SIM only 4G contracts on the EE network. We have selected the best plans for you to choose from and added them into our comparison table below.

Network Operator Package Name Contract Duration Included Minutes Included Texts Added Extras Monthly Cost More Info
EE 20GB EE SIM Only 12 months Unlimited Unlimited 20GB of EE UK 4G (up to 60mbps) + EU roaming £21.00 see deal
EE 25GB EE SIM Only 12 months Unlimited Unlimited 25GB of EE UK 4G (up to 60mbps) + EU roaming £23.00 see deal
EE 50GB EE SIM Only 12 months Unlimited Unlimited 50GB of EE UK 4G (up to 60mbps) + EU roaming £27.00 see deal
EE 250MB EE SIM Only 12 months Unlimited Unlimited 250MB of EE UK 4G (up to 60mbps) + EU roaming £13.00 see deal

 

EE 4G Network Coverage

EE now have 4G coverage in 160 towns and cities across the UK with coverage regularly increasing. A selection of major towns and cities that have EE 4G coverage includes –
EE operate a 4G network signal in nearly 700 towns and cities throughout the UK and the network state that they have hit 99% population coverage for 4G services. This means you are virtually guaranteed to get a 4G signal on your EE SIM only contract regardless of where you are in the UK.

There can still be “pockets” of poor access so it is important that you use the 4G coverage checker from EE to ensure that the areas in which you will frequent most are covered by a strong signal, but if EE can offer strong 4G signals ranging from the Shetland Islands all the way down to the Isles of Scilly you will be very unlucky if your signal is low.

EE 4G Speeds

The EE network is increasing regularly with 75% of the UK landmass on 4G currently (99% population coverage). The plan is for EE to cover 95% of the total UK landmass by 2020. Incredibly EE are spending £1.5 million per day to achieve the 95% landmass coverage goal.

With the amount of money spent on the EE 4G network you should expect excellent 4G coverage, but what about 4G speeds?

There is a difference between the theoretical 4G speeds offered by EE and the actual 4G speeds that a user will get when using their device to download or stream content for example.

Currently EE offer three levels of 4G speeds based on the price of the SIM only contract, so depending on how much you spend on your monthly contract per month you could expect one of the three following (maximum) 4G speeds –

  • 20Mbps
  • 60Mbps
  • 90Mbps

The 90Mbps speed rivals some of the fastest fibre optic download speeds available in the UK today, with EE able to offer an astounding 360Mbps for visitors to Wembley Stadium. The 360Mbps technology is planned to be offered to selected parts of the UK such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and other larger cities in 2007.

If you are unsure about coverage in your area you should also use the EE 4G postcode coverage checker tool to check that you have 4G coverage.