(Telecompaper) UK mobile network operator EE has announced that it will connect over 1,500 rural communities by the end of 2017 using a micro network technology from US equipment provider Parallel Wireless that provides coverage to remote areas with no need for broadband or cable. Starting in early 2015, EE will be making voice services, as well as 3G and 4G mobile data coverage available in communities that currently don't have reliable mobile or high speed broadband. They are in areas unconnected to traditional network deployments relying on the construction of large masts. EE will build micro networks that wirelessly connect small antennas to a suitable nearby macro site, with no need for cabling. The technology was successfully trialled in the village of Sebergham, Cumbria, where 129 homes and small businesses gained voice and data connectivity from three meshed small antennas.