MOBILE operator EE is bringing 600 jobs back to the UK, meaning all its customer service calls will be answered by staff based in the UK and Ireland by the end of the year.

The move, which will initially create jobs at EE's offices on Tyneside, and could bring more jobs to its Darlington site later this year, is part of the firm's plan to improve customer experience, while growing 4G coverage with the aspiration of taking it across the whole of the UK.

The investment in coverage will focus on filling in so-called ‘notspots’ in current 4G areas, and expanding 4G coverage from 60 per cent of the country towards an objective of 95 per cent by 2020 – further than any mobile network has ever gone.

Marc Allera, EE chief executive, said: "We’re bringing 100 per cent of our EE customer service calls back to the UK and Ireland. We’ve already seen a major boost in customer satisfaction by creating 1,400 new service jobs here since 2014. Now we’re creating 600 additional jobs to handle all EE customer service calls in the UK and Ireland by the end of this year, providing the best possible experience for our customers."

100 of the new roles will be based in Plymouth, South Wales and North Tyneside by the end of June, when all EE Pay Monthly customer calls will be handled onshore. The locations of the remaining 500 jobs, providing service for EE Pay as You Go and Home customers, will be announced throughout the second half of 2016. It is understood that some of these jobs will be located at EE's flagship offices in Darlington.