EE enjoys mobile video boost in summer of sport

Some 90% of the UK population tuned into the BBC’s coverage of the Olympics, but it was Tom Daley and Matty Lee’s gold medal winning performance in the synchronised diving final which caused the most notable splash on EE’s mobile network, with BBC users up more than 20% compared with the same time the following day.

On the football front, as Champions League winners Chelsea stole a victory over Europa league winners Villareal to win the UEFA Super Cup in a penalty shoot-out, BT Sport traffic on EE’s mobile network almost tripled compared with kick off, and user numbers more than doubled. The largest spike of the evening came when Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made the winning save in the shoot-out. (Ultram)

Football fans also used EE’s mobile network to stay connected to England’s action in the UEFA Euros and share the highlights and lowlights of the games. With each step closer England got to bringing it home, traffic on EE’s mobile network increased. In the England v Italy final on 11 July, overall traffic was up by more than 10% compared with England’s 2-0 win over Germany on 29 June, as the nation got behind the Three Lions.

On final day, when EE offered its customers free data, the most popular apps on EE’s mobile network at Wembley Stadium and at Wembley Way were Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, as fans shared the action with those watching elsewhere.

At this year’s Silverstone Grand Prix, total traffic on EE’s mobile network more than doubled compared with the last event in 2019, as Lewis Hamilton sped to victory. The event was connected to EE’s 5G network for the first time, with 5G representing approximately one third of mobile traffic across the weekend.

Commenting on the uptick in data, Marc Allera, CEO Consumer Division, BT Group, said: “This has been a brilliant summer of sport, and our mobile network has enabled fans to catch all the action, and share the highlights and lowlights with family and friends, wherever they are.” Rapid TV News