Overview

• BT will market its standalone network as 5G+ and is scaling deployment through more than 1,500 outdoor small cells, including 500 added in the past year.
• Europe’s first Ericsson AIR 3284 massive MIMO radios are live on EE sites in Leeds, delivering up to four times greater uplink capacity, with hundreds more planned by 2030.
• A new Advanced RAN Coordination system lets nearby sites share capacity dynamically to boost performance in busy areas without new masts.
• Chief executive Allison Kirkby urged ministers to ease planning rules, release more spectrum and cut fees, while no specific government commitments have been announced.
• Rivals are upgrading too, with Virgin Media O2’s Nokia-powered Paddington Giga Site using spectrum gained from the Vodafone–Three deal and a plan to deploy about 1,000 similar sites next year.