by Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer, BT Group
As September draws to a close, the milder (and wetter) days have signalled the shift from summer to the colourful tones of autumn. Time never stands still at BT Group, as we continue building and connecting you to the UK’s best networks. But the change in seasons is a good moment to reflect on some summer highlights — and the role our network played in powering them.
A rock 'n' roll star of the network
A whole host of monumental events have contributed to making this one of the busiest ever summers on the EE network. But where better place to start than the Oasis reunion tour, arguably the hottest ticket across the UK in recent months – with Wembley Stadium, Connected by EE, hosting the Manchester rock band on seven separate occasions – more than any other venue.
With data traffic across all gigs reaching roughly 33.5TB – enough to stream Definitely Maybe well over 900,000 times – our state-of-the-art, upgraded indoor system (earlier this year Wembley became the UK’s first major sports venue to get permanent 5G Standalone connectivity), was integral to the event experience, enabling fans to stay in touch and share content even amongst a sell-out 90,000+ crowd!
The summer music calendar also featured Guns N' Roses, Blackpink, and Lana Del Rey — but it was Coldplay’s record-breaking 10-night run that saw the most traffic, with an average of over 4.7TB used in just a few hours each evening. Across the UK, our network supported hundreds of festivals and events, often with temporary masts to handle surging demand. Nowhere is this better seen than at Glastonbury, where our two permanent sites were joined by seven temporary builds — enabling 265TB of data usage, up 25% from last year.
Seamless sporting moments
As a nation of sports lovers, bringing the UK’s best and most reliable network to the summer sports schedule is also a priority for us. Wembley is of course synonymous with sport, and while from June onwards the hallowed green turf makes way for the protective hard-flooring needed for concerts, the early part of summer saw us support major events including the Men’s and Women’s FA Cup finals, the Lionesses’ Nations League match against Portugal, and Rugby League’s Challenge Cup Final.
But it’s not just Wembley. Venues across the UK are equipped with similar systems, ensuring reliable connectivity year-round. At Cheltenham Racecourse, we boosted coverage ahead of March’s world-famous Festival, welcoming nearly 220,000 racegoers. The result? A near doubling of 4G and 5G traffic year-on-year (38.21TB vs 20.08TB in 2024).
And for something a little different, in July we showcased the power of our expanding 5G Standalone network by partnering with SailGP as it returned to the UK. By upgrading multiple sites in Portsmouth, we delivered smoother, more secure mobile connectivity for fans and, for the first time, enabled multiple concurrent network slices to support critical event operations. These dedicated slices ensured reliable performance for boat telemetry, point-of-sale systems, media and broadcast needs — all protected from public network congestion, with operationally vital data running over the slices across the weekend.
Connectivity that takes off
Music and sporting events aside, another staple summer activity is escaping the UK for sunnier climes. To support British holidaymakers from the very start of their trips, we boosted capacity with new indoor systems at some of the UK’s busiest airports. In August alone, Manchester, Luton and Stansted saw nearly 300TB of combined data usage — enough to stream 26,000 4K movies from the departure lounge. But it’s not just about killing time before a flight — from downloading boarding passes to using mobile payments, airports are now digital spaces where fast, reliable connectivity is essential.
So, as you can see, from packed stadiums to festival fields, EE’s network has been behind the scenes all summer, keeping fans connected when it mattered most. Whether live-streaming the winning goal or your favourite artist’s encore, our reliable, high-performing mobile connectivity has helped customers share and treasure the moment. And while summer may be winding down, our commitment to delivering seamless connectivity doesn’t stop here – it’s a year-round promise, wherever and whenever our customers need us.
