With the heat beating down, the UK’s summer holiday and events season has begun in earnest, and to beat the traditional frustration of unreliable mobile connectivity, mobile network operator EE has unveiled enhancements to its 5G infrastructure and completed a successful pilot with Meta to make watching videos on Facebook and Instagram more reliable, even during periods of high network demand.
At the heart of the network extension – part of EE parent BT’s £40bn investment in upgrading the UK’s network infrastructure this decade – and tests with the social media giant is the roll-out of Advanced RAN Coordination (ARC). The technology is designed to enable mobile sites close to each other to share capacity in real time dynamically, something EE says will instantly boost network performance – particularly download speeds – by up to 20% without the need for additional masts.
Putting its network extension into context, EE noted that for event-goers and holidaymakers alike, unreliable mobile connectivity is caused by thousands of people trying to access the network in the same place at the same time. It said that such users are typically accessing digital tickets, making payments, navigating venues, coordinating with friends, sharing content or arranging travel home. The result is that demand quickly outpaces available network capacity.
The operator says it is addressing this challenge with its 5G+ expansion plans, which it says point to a more practical phase for the technology. That is planning around the places and moments where demand is needed most, rather than treating roll-out as a simple coverage map exercise. The operator stressed that this is particularly important as 5G+ adoption continues to grow, with a 3.75 times increase in users from June 2025 to April 2026.
The move includes activating a 5G+ network at more than 25 major events, which include BST Hyde Park, the Isle of Wight Festival, the Reading and Leeds Festival, the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. It is also switching on 5G+ in more than 30 tourist destinations, seaside towns and market towns ahead of the expected increase in visitors and peak summer footfall generally.
By deploying 5G+ connectivity on its temporary mobile sites at festivals and events, EE aims to improve how attendees stay connected and how businesses engage with their customers, even in remote event locations or when the mobile network is at peak demand as thousands of people try to call, chat and stream at the same time.
EE also revealed that customer use of 5G+ increased by more than 11% between March and April 2026, and that 5G+ on EE was now available to 75% of the UK population. The latest upgrades mean the technology covers more than 44 million people in England, over 2.1 million people in Wales, around 3.3 million people in Scotland and nearly one million people in Northern Ireland.
As part of a long-standing commitment to support culturally important events across the UK, EE will also be making 5G+ available at major regional showcases, such as the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival in Kiltarlity, the Devon County Show, and the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells, where it has delivered permanent 5G+ connectivity all year round.
Having already made ARC live for customers in Edinburgh, Manchester and London, the technology is now also improving the everyday mobile experience for EE customers in the busiest areas of Liverpool, Sheffield, Cardiff, Glasgow, Newcastle and Leeds as part of its UK roll-out.
All EE 5G customers will be able to benefit from the improvements ARC is providing, but EE stressed that 5G+ customers will see the biggest boost to their network speeds and performance on their devices.
Giving EE 5G users a video advantage
ARC is also at the heart of the pilot with Meta, with the key driver of the announcement being that as demand for video continues to grow, mobile networks can come under pressure, leading to buffering or a drop in quality, while users now expect to load video instantly and play smoothly, even in the busiest places or at peak times. To address the issue, EE owner BT said it was important to work with content providers such as Meta to tackle what it called a shared challenge.
The firms said their ambition was simple: to help more people enjoy a smooth viewing experience, while at the same time reducing impact on the network.
The pilot aimed to make watching videos on Facebook and Instagram more reliable for EE mobile customers, even during periods of high network demand. It saw the two companies test what they believe is a smarter approach to video delivery using new congestion awareness technology that adapts automatically during busy periods. This should ease potential pressure on the network while maintaining a high-quality video experience for customers – or in simple terms, help reduce those frustrating moments where videos buffer or stall when networks are busy.
Meta’s congestion awareness technology is designed to intelligently respond when parts of the network are under pressure. By making small, real-time adjustments when detecting high cell load during peak moments, it is said to be able to reduce the amount of data needed without noticeably affecting video quality.
The partners say this will help ease potential congestion so more people can keep watching without interruptions, while making better use of available network capacity. In addition, they say it will also support a more consistent experience when using video apps in busy areas like city centres, transport hubs or large events.
EE revealed that the pilot delivered strong results, including a 6% to 8% bitrate reduction when congestion was identified and around a 4% reduction in traffic to congested cells, all while maintaining a high-quality experience for EE customers using Facebook and Instagram. That meant fewer slowdowns and a more reliable video streaming experience on mobile data, it said.
The congestion awareness technology has now been rolled out across the EE network, and Meta will expand the solution to other markets and partners throughout 2026.
