Three to improve connectivity across 250 towns and cities with £100m SSE Enterprise investment agreement

Capacity and reliability increases to meet rising data demands

Three intends to expand its 5G network and improve its 4G network across 250 UK towns and cities through a £100 million agreement with Scottish provider SSE Enterprise Telecoms.

The agreement will see the two firms invest in Three’s infrastructure, rolling out its 5G network and continuing to improve its 4G coverage through increased capacity and reliability, to cope with rising demand for data from its users.

Omdia principal analyst David Molony has described the partnership as “a prime example of the kind of co-investment needed for high capacity 5G infrastructure, and goes some way to put the UK on the map”.

Additionally, SSE will deliver more than 450 unbundled BT Exchanges across the UK. This will increase SSE’s fibre network from 20,000km to 30,000km, and the connectivity derived from the exchanges will be linked into Three’s network.

“We are investing significantly to transform our entire network experience which will support our customers who use three times more data than the average UK consumer,” said Three chief operating officer Susan Buttsworth. “SSE Enterprise Telecoms will help support our goal of delivering a great 4G and 5G experience across the UK.”

SSE Enterprise Telecoms sector director for network operators Sarah Mills added: “This will allow Three UK to meet the future demands that we know are coming from businesses and consumers. Our continued close collaboration with Three UK has enabled both parties to focus on optimising the design and network for 4G and 5G services. Our next phase is our most pervasive yet. Our vision to support UK innovation is anchored in 5G and edge computing, which feeds our larger strategic purpose.”

The announcement follows Three’s appointment of Belinda Finch as its new chief information officer, and Peter Gilson as its director of RAN.