EE has launched Fast Lane, what it says is the UK’s first commercial network slicing offer, for consumers and small businesses. The service sits on 5G Standalone and is bundled into a new Full Works Plus subscription that costs £5 more than EE’s existing Full Works plan.
How EE is packaging the service
Fast Lane is available only with a compatible handset. EE says the offer is meant to help subscribers avoid congestion in high-footfall areas such as commutes and major events, while supporting livestreaming, video calls and social media use.
EE says its 5G Standalone network currently reaches 54 million people, or 78% of the UK population. That is the coverage base the operator is leaning on for a consumer-facing slicing product, rather than a wholesale or enterprise-only launch.
VMO2 is also pushing 5G Standalone coverage
VMO2 has expanded its 5G Standalone network to 1.6 million people in Kent, in southeast England. The operator said its £700 million mobile investment package covers new masts, small cells, 4G and 5G upgrades, automation and new spectrum deployment.
Ericsson is testing AI in SoftBank’s RAN
Ericsson tested its AI-native Scheduler for Link Adaptation on SoftBank’s commercial 5G network in Japan. Ericsson said the feature improved spectral efficiency by around 25% and downlink user throughput by 50%.
Ericsson also said the technology is a step toward AI-native mobile networks.
Read for UK mobile plans and slicing benchmarks
EE has put a price on network slicing for consumers and small businesses, and that makes Full Works Plus a reference point for rival UK operators. The £5 premium and handset requirement define the first disclosed commercial package around the service.
Mobile operators are still tuning the edge cases
Omdia expects the African smartphone market to shrink by 26% this year after a 7% fall in the second quarter. The sharpest decline is in the sub-$100 segment, where rising memory costs and AI-driven supply chain changes have hit availability and pricing.
The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority will investigate the connectivity needs of farming, meat production and forestry, and will assess how those sectors’ mobile network requirements may change in capacity, reliability and robustness.