EE said it doubled the rate of uptake of its 4G services during the second quarter of the year, compared to the previous five months, as it further extended its LTE network coverage.

EE’s 4G user base reached 687,000 by the end of June, putting it on track to exceed one million LTE customers by the end of the year.

The company saw strong adoption of 4G-enabled smartphones, with 56 per cent of new and upgrading postpaid customers opting for 4G contracts or 4G-ready devices.

Existing customers moving to the 4G network showed a 10 per cent increase in ARPU.

The additional 10 towns covered by the 4G network bring the total covered to 95, equivalent to 60 per cent population coverage. The network is on track for 98 per cent coverage by 2014.

The towns being added to the 4G network are Altrincham, Bedford, Camberley, Crawley, Farnborough, Farnham, Maidstone, Rochdale, Tonbridge and Welwyn Garden City.

Double-speed 4G comes to Belfast, Newcastle and Southampton, bringing the total to 15 cities after it was launched in 12 cities earlier in July. There are plans to launch speed-differentiated 4G plans later in the year.

EE reported an operating loss for the six months ending on 30 June of £34 million, compared to £68 million for the same period in 2012. Loss attributable to the equity holders of the parent company was £86 million, compared to £101 million in H2 2012.

Revenue was £3.21 billion, down from £3.31 billion.

Service revenue for the year was £2.84 billion, down 4.9 per cent. Excluding the impact of regulation, the company would have seen a service revenue drop of 0.2 per cent.

However, the company reported the best margin performance since it was formed, with adjusted EBITDA improving by 9.1 per cent year-on-year to reach £734 million, a margin of 22.9 per cent.

The improvement was attributed to growth in postpaid customers, progress in network optimisation and retail integration.

“Today’s results demonstrate our success in building our new brand and differentiating our network to drive commercial momentum while continuing to deliver cost savings to increase our margin performance,” said Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE.