IT was hailed as a technology that would change the way Dorset did business.

4G mobile broadband arrived in Bournemouth and Poole at the end of last year, bringing to mobile devices the kind of connection speeds usually seen with fibre broadband.

A little over two months on, mobile operator EE – the provider that launched the service in Bournemouth – says businesses are already doing things differently.

Mike Tomlinson, EE’s director responsible for small business, said there had been “all kinds of different forecasts” about who would take up 4G, which the company says can offer speeds up to five times faster than 3G.

“I was absolutely convinced businesses were going to take it in spades. I was less sure about which sectors and which industries and which locations,” he said.

“Across the whole of EE, the small business segment has taken to 4G faster than any other segment. It took a few people by surprise.”

He said the ability to enjoy high-speed connectivity on the go was changing the way people worked.

“People are loving the fact that if you’ve got connectivity wherever you go, then you can start to do things differently,” he said.

“You can take it with you wherever you are.”

He said 4G was enabling people to do work on the road more efficiently, to take part in video conferencing and to access data from the office while travelling.

One eventual advantage of 4G could be that it brings faster internet access to areas that are still waiting for fibre optic broadband.

At the moment, EE enjoys a monopoly position locally, and Mr Tomlinson says rivals are “a couple of years behind us” in their rollout.

But he said EE’s prices are set nationally, so Poole and Bournemouth customers will benefit from the effect of the firm having competition across the country.

The same goes for customer services.