EE becomes technology and communications partner for Glastonbury Festival for the fifth year running

EE Glastonbury Partnership Announcement

40 terabytes of data is predicted to be used during Glastonbury Festival 2017 – up by a third on 2016’s record-breaking sharefest
This equates to 400 million festival selfies uploaded to Instagram on the UK’s largest temporary 4G network at Worthy Farm
As official technology partner, EE will deliver the official Glastonbury app, free 4G WiFi and phone charging on site, including wireless charging for the first time

LONDON, 29-May-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — EE, the UK’s largest mobile network operator, is confirmed as the official technology and communications partner for Glastonbury Festival for the fifth year running. Bringing the most powerful temporary 4G network seen at any UK event to the 900-acre site, EE is preparing for the most socially shared music event of 2017 in anticipation of 135,000 festival-goers descending on the iconic site at Worthy Farm.

From 21-25 June, the network expects to see 40 terabytes of data used across its 4G network, with revellers sharing their festival experiences via social networks and sending WhatsApp messages to friends back home. With the introduction of Facebook Live, Snapchat Stories and now Instagram Stories – a concept that wasn’t even available during last year’s Glastonbury festival and now boasts 200 million global daily users – Glastonbury fans will have more opportunities to capture and share magical moments from the festival than ever before.

The continued rise of social networks, messaging apps, and live video streaming mean the amount of data used around the festival has continued to increase year on year. To cope with this growing demand, EE continues to increase the capacity of the network on site. This year, EE expects to see up to 40 terabytes of data shared across its 4G network from 21-25 June, an increase of 33% on 2016. This is a wider trend seen across the EE network, with data usage at events such as Aintree continuing to double or even triple year on year. The colossal amount of data predicted to be used at Glastonbury this year is equivalent to:

10 million downloads of Sunday headliner Ed Sheeran’s number one smash, ‘Shape of You’[1]
400 million festival selfies uploaded to Instagram
4 million minutes of video streamed to Facebook Live – equivalent to over 7.5 years

This year, EE is also installing the first permanent network mast on the Glastonbury site to ensure 4G coverage is there all year round, not just for festival-goers. This new mast comes as part of EE working towards hitting its target of 92% 4G coverage by the end of 2017, whilst continuing to work on its ambition to reach 95% by the end of 2020.

Mat Sears, Director of Communications and Sponsorship at EE, said: “Since EE first launched 4G in the UK, we’ve worked with the team at Glastonbury to give festival-goers the best possible network experience. A few years ago that meant making sure people could simply post status updates and photos, but with social media continuing its rapid growth – including the recent addition of Instagram Stories, Facebook Live and Snapchat Stories – those on site now require more data for video than ever before.

“Our customers will be able to treat their friends at home by sharing their own personal view of all of the awesome stuff that Glastonbury has to offer over our superfast 4G network. We’re incredibly excited to be able to help make that happen.”

With so much content expected to be shared direct from Worthy Farm, connectivity remains more important than ever. That means the phone charging solutions on site are a crucial part of EE’s offering at Glastonbury Festival. In 2017, festival-goers will be able to keep fully charged in one of three innovative ways:

The traditional Recharge tent – which contains more chargers than ever before and is free to all
The Juice Tube Power Bank on-site swap service*
Wireless and QC 30 charging stations – charging compatible phones in under 30 minutes[2]

The official Glastonbury 2017 app, developed in partnership with EE, will be available to download in early June, allowing festival-goers to get up-to-the-minute news on the weekend’s entertainment and live stream the BBC’s coverage. Customers who download the app can drop location pins over the weekend to ensure they don’t lose their friends, and can find their way back to their tent or car at Worthy Farm. More information on the official app will be announced in the coming weeks.

For the latest news and updates go to EE.co.uk/Glastonbury.

– ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

eeglasto@mcsaatchi.com

* JUICE TUBE POWER BANK

PORTABLE CHARGING AT GLASTONBURY 2017

The Juice Tube Power Bank is a portable mini-charger that’s small enough to carry around in your pocket, so you can charge your phone on the move. And when it runs flat, you can bring it to the EE Recharge Tent or the EE Exchange Cabin and swap it for a fully-charged one, once a day, for free.

You can buy a Juice Tube Power Bank online https://accessories.ee.co.uk/glastopowerbar or on site for £20.00. The Juice Tube Power Bank is the portable charging solution for Glastonbury 2017 only.

We’ll be open for swapping at the EE Recharge Tent and the EE Exchange Cabin – both can be found on the official Glastonbury map via the app – on Wednesday from 3pm to 8pm and then from Thursday to Sunday between 10am and 10pm

About EE

EE, part of BT Group, is the largest and most advanced mobile communications company in the UK, delivering mobile and fixed communications services to consumers.

EE runs the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile network, having pioneered the UK’s first superfast 4G mobile service in October 2012 and was the first European operator to surpass 14 million 4G customers in December 2015. EE has more than 550 shops across the UK. EE’s 4G coverage extends to 80% of the UK’s landmass (equal to more than 99% of the UK population) and EE plans to extend 4G to 95% geographic coverage by 2020.

EE has received extensive independent recognition, including being ranked the UK’s best overall network by RootMetrics®; Best Network at the 2014 and 2015 Mobile News Awards; Best Consumer Network at the 2015 & 2016 Mobile Industry Awards; as well as Fastest Network at the 2014 and 2016 uSwitch Mobile Awards.

Facebook at: facebook.com/ee

Twitter at: twitter.com/ee

YouTube at: youtube.com/ee

LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/company/ee-uk

[1] Based on an average of 4mb to download a song

SOURCE: EE LIMITED