New EE plan charges £5 more for priority 5G access
Key Points
- EE has launched Fast Lane, a service that moves customers into a dedicated section of its 5G+ network when the wider network is congested.
- Consumers can only get it on Full Works Plus, a new pay-monthly handset plan that costs £5 more than EE's existing Full Works plan.
- Small business customers can access Fast Lane on an EE Full Works business plan with a 5G+ compatible handset.
- Customers need a 5G+ plan, device and SIM, and must be in a 5G+ area, which currently covers around 54 million people.
- EE says its 5G+ network will reach 99% of the UK population by the end of March 2030.
EE has launched Fast Lane, a service that gives paying customers a dedicated slice of its 5G+ network when the wider network is busy, priced at £5 more than its current top consumer plan.
Fast Lane works by anticipating congestion and moves a customer’s connection into a separate section of EE’s 5G+ network, allowing them to stream, video call, message and navigate at full speed while other users share the standard network.
EE said it has designed the service around high-footfall moments such as rush hour, festivals and major sporting events, where thousands of devices compete for capacity in the same location.
It is the first commercial network slice available to both consumers and small businesses in the UK.
Consumers who want the feature need Full Works Plus, a new premium pay-monthly handset plan that requires a compatible 5G+ device.
Alongside Fast Lane, the plan includes unlimited data at maximum speeds, worldwide roaming, unlimited smartwatch data, family data gifting, a premium inclusive extra, Anytime Upgrade and Network Boost. EE has set the price at £5 above its existing Full Works plan.
Small business customers can get Fast Lane on an EE Full Works business plan taken out with a 5G+ compatible handset, and the option applies to both new and re-signing customers.
EE points to card payments on the go, mobile ticketing and video calls from busy locations as the main use cases. It added that businesses on the plan effectively move to the front of the queue when hundreds of nearby devices are contending for the same capacity.
“Powered by our advanced 5G+ network, Fast Lane gives our customers access to a dedicated 5G+ lane at the busiest times,” said Claire Gillies, CEO of BT’s Consumer Division.
EE’s 5G+ network currently reaches around 54 million people, or 78% of the UK population, across several hundred towns and cities. The operator will extend that to 99% of the population by the end of March 2030 as part of a £40 billion investment across the decade.
Customers must have a 5G+ compatible plan, device and SIM, and must sit within a 5G+ enabled area, to use Fast Lane at all.
The launch follows two years of network slicing trials at Wembley Stadium, Belfast Christmas Market, Sail GP in Portsmouth, the EE BAFTAs and the Royal Welsh Show 2026.
Eligible customers will also start seeing a 5G+ icon on their handsets, which already appears on new and select Android devices and will reach other devices later this year.
