EE's 4G offers hope for rural broadband Dominic Baliszewski, telecoms expert at Broadbandchoices. co. uk argued, however, that "London will be the first European city fully covered by 4G which is great news for Londoners, although customers in rural areas have been forgotten once again in the broadband speed race. Mr Swantee added that he hoped rival firms would help the telecoms industry to "move beyond litigation" and concentrate on offering new services to customers. EE, the UK's first 4G network launched today and will be operational in London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Bristol within weeks. A total of 16 cities will be operational by Christmas, owners Everything Everywhere claimed. Everything Everywhere has been given permission by Ofcom to reuse its existing mobile phone spectrum for new, faster 4G networks. Rival networks, who will have to wait until next year to launch their 4G networks, following the spectrum auction, have been outraged by the advantage given to Everything Everywhere and threatened to challenge Ofcom's decision in court. "I'm surprised by the litigious behaviour of this industry," said Swantee, who acknowledged that his own company had previously resorted to the courts.