EE celebrated its last day as the UK’s sole LTE operator by talking up its superior coverage as two competitors prepared to enter the market.

Tomorrow (August 29) sees the launch of LTE services from EE’s two largest rivals – Vodafone and O2.

EE used its remaining time of UK exclusivity to trumpet that it had passed the milestone of 100 towns with LTE access. Coverage and network speed are being used by EE as key differentiators for its service.

It has added ten new towns this month and now offers LTE access in a total of 105 towns. EE says its LTE network has now reached 60 per cent of the population, ten months after its launch at the end of 2012.

Rivals Vodafone and O2 will launch with inferior coverage. Vodafone in particular has instead pointed to its content, such as music and sport, as its key differentiator over rivals.

The UK’s fourth network operator, 3, has yet to reveal its plans for LTE.