Ipswich is to get a super fast mobile broadband network before Christmas – but the rest of the county is going to be left behind.

Digital communications company EE today announced its customers in the town will have access to the latest 4G technology this month.

However, there are no specific plans to introduce it in other parts of Suffolk, at least for the time being.

The latest mobile broadband innovation can give speeds up to five times faster than 3G.

EE serves around 27 million EE, Orange and T-Mobile customers with broadband and mobile plans, and is the first company to introduce 4G to Suffolk’s county town.

Michelle Hardcastle, EE’s regional manager for East Anglia, said: “The arrival of 4G mobile in Ipswich is great news for our customers.

“4G from EE is like having fibre broadband to your mobile phone and allows customers to access content they care about without the frustration of pages being slow to load or apps no connecting.

“With Christmas coming up there’s never been a better time to ask Santa for a smartphone.

“4G unlocks its true potential – whether surfing social media, streaming live matches from the web or downloading large work files.”

Reacting to the news, Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey said: “Whilst this is good news for Ipswich it does highlight the work we have to do to improve coverage in rural areas.

“The Government’s mobile coverage upgrade is set to begin by the middle of next year which concentrates on improving the 2G rural ‘not spots’ whilst laying the platform for future rural 4G.

“Parliament previously ensured that as part of this programme, 4G would be available to 98% of the country instead of Ofcom’s previous target of 95%.”

Ipswich MP Ben Gummer said: “It’s great news, I’m glad that we’re getting a decent service here.

“We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can (to improve services) – broadband is the railway of the 21st Century.”

EE said it is planning to extend its 4G coverage aggressively over the next 12 months to cover more parts of the country.