3 activates 10,000th 3G site as part of improvements programme

Mobile broadband operator 3 has activated its 10,000th 3G site this week - just one of hundreds of new sites the operator is connecting to improve the reach of its mobile broadband network.

The landmark site is at Shooters Hill in south east London and went live on Friday evening as part of a significant programme of improvements which is expected to bring 3's total number of 3G sites to around 13,000. The company contends that this will bring its mobile broadband coverage by population to nearly 90 per cent.

Graham Baxter, CTO at 3 UK said: "Over the past two years the continued growth of internet communications,  smartphone use and mobile broadband uptake have brought the need for good 3G network coverage into sharp focus for millions of consumers. Our network is already the biggest 3G network in the UK. Now we’re adding new coverage and capacity across the country to meet demand and bring the benefits of 3G to people who’ve never had access in their area before."

Interestingly, 3 is now appending information to the bottom of its press releases indicating how it arrives at its coverage statistics - which suggests that the 'who's got the biggest 3G network' question is still causing some controversy.