Mobile operator EE has secured a “multi-year agreement” with BT that paves the way for it being the exclusive MVNO provider for the UK incumbent’s customers and employees.

BT began a tender earlier this year for an operator partner to provide BT-branded LTE services following its acquisition of 4G spectrum.

There was some speculation that BT might hook up with O2, the unit it spun off twelve years ago. Vodafone, too, was believed to be in the bidding for the MVNO contract. BT previously had an MVNO agreement with Vodafone for nine years, targeting business customers, but – according to a Financial Times source – the agreement was nullified following Vodafone’s acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide (a fixed-network rival to BT with a string of enterprise customers).

EE boasts the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile network, no doubt helped by having a 4G headstart of nearly a year on its rivals. The operator’s 4G coverage reaches more than 60 per cent of the UK population with plans to cover 98 per cent by end-2014.

BT is making a concerted push into fixed-line triple say services, which includes heavy investment in sports content for BT Vision, the company’s IPTV service. The addition of mobile would open the door for BT to make a quad-play offering, which has proven popular in some European markets, particularly France and Spain.