EE 4G's service will go live in the UK on October 30th

At a press conference last month, UK mobile operator EE (formerly Everything Everywhere) CEO Olaf Swantee promised to connect "the country with superfast mobile speeds in the coming weeks, months, and years" via its forthcoming 4G network.

Swantee revealed at the time that EE's 4G network was already in place in four UK cities, and that the firm intended to launch its network in 12 further cities by the end of 2012.

In a press statement this morning on his company's website, however, Swantee finally added some fine detail to EE's UK 4G rollout plans.

"We are delighted to announce that the official launch of our new customer brand, EE, offering the UK's first superfast mobile 4G and fibre broadband service, will take place on the 30th October, 2012," Swantee said.

"This is a significant milestone for the United Kingdom, and for the people and businesses of our country who will now be able to enjoy the huge advantages of superfast 4G technology for the first time."

Given that EE is a joint venture between Orange and T-Mobile, it'll come as no surprise to you to discover that only customers on those two networks will be able to tap into EE's 4G service from October 30th.

To take advantage of EE's super-fast network, you will also, of course, need a 4G-compatible phone, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III, Nokia Lumia 920, HTC One XL, or a little thing called the iPhone 5.

And speaking of super-fast, EE is aiming to deliver impressive mobile internet speeds of around 20Mbps on its 4G network, which will be available on launch day in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Sheffield.

EE's 4G service will cover 16 cities - a third of the UK population - by the end of the year.

But, what about those of you non-EE punters?

Well, you'll be pleased to read that UK communications regulator Ofcom has brought forward the 4G auction process to release spectrum to the end of this year.

This means network providers like O2, Vodafone, and Three should be in a position to roll out their own 4G services during the first half of 2013.

Hopefully, all of this will mean that connection drop-outs during our smartphone and tablet gaming sessions are a thing of the past. Here's hoping.