EE, O2 and Vodafone have all announced new expansion plans for their 4G networks. Throughout the year the roll-out of the superfast broadband 4G has continued unabated, with a number of cities being ‘switched on’ by the main firms.

EE was the first company to really get off the ground and has added the network to a further 12 cities and towns last week in an effort to meet its goal of achieving 98% coverage in the UK by the end of 2014.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Beaconsfield, Blackburn, Burton upon Trent, Coalville, Chester-le-Street, Fleet, Gerrard’s Cross, Halifax, Hinckley, Houghton-le-Spring and Reigate have all recently been added to the 4GEE network, which is now live in 117 towns and cities, covering 60 per cent of the UK population.

O2, which launched its own 4G network last month, will this week go live in Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield, with Vodafone also switching on in the same locations.

Ronan Dunne, the CEO of O2, said that the super-speed network was well on the way to becoming the “oxygen of modern life”.

“It is our intention to use 4G to inspire the nation through the possibilities of technology, encouraging people to live more, do more and be more with O2,” added Mr Dunne. “The full potential of 4G is as yet unexplored, but what we can be sure of is that it will allow for a whole new world of opportunity that people are now ready for.”

O2’s own goal is to have 13 cities hooked up to its 4G network by the end of this year.