EE reveals the 16 launch cities to get ‘SUPER-FAST’ 5G internet in 2019
BRITS living in 16 cities across the UK will be able to enjoy "superfast" 5G internet next year.
Mobile network EE has revealed the key locations it'll be targeting with next-gen 5G data speeds ahead of the 2019 launch.
5G internet will mean speedy downloads: you'll be able to get a 4K movie in a matter of seconds.
EE confirmed that the UK's four capital cities – London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast – would all be getting the upgrade at launch.
Birmingham and Manchester have also been thrown in, bringing the launch cities up to a total of six.
An additional 10 cities will be added later on in the year, too: Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry and Bristol.
"Adding 5G to the UK's number one 4G network will increase reliability, increase speeds and keep our customers connected where they need it most," said Marc Allera, CEO of EE parent company BT.
"This is another milestone for the UK and for our network journey – we'll keep evolving as we move tone smart network for our customers.
"We have an ambition to connect our customers to 4G, 5G or WiFi 100% of the time."
It's worth mentioning that not all locations within the named cities will be serviced.
EE is only building 5G in the busiest areas of cities initially.
Named locations include London's Hyde Park, the Manchester Arena, Belfast City Airport, the Welsh Assembly, Edinburgh Waverly train station, and Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre.
EE is already trialling live 5G in Canary Wharf, and some areas of East London.
What is 5G? The future of mobile internet explained
Here's what you need to know...
- 5G is a term used to describe a type of mobile internet
- It stands for "fifth generation", because it follows on from 2G, 3G and 4G internet
- The biggest advantage of 5G is that online speeds are faster
- That means you'll be able to download and uploads files, music and videos more quickly
- But it will also reduce the latency, or "lag", of connections, so there's less physical delay
- This is important for online gamers, who need their movements to be registered online as quickly as possible
- Because more data can be transferred more quickly, 5G will also enable smart cities and driverless cars
- These futuristic technologies will produce huge amounts of data, so 5G will give them a significant boost
- The UK is expected to get its first 5G networks in 2019
- But Brits will also need to buy smartphones with 5G modems that can support the technology
- We're expecting the first round of 5G smartphones in Britain in early 2019
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said he hoped 5G would make London the "world's leading smart city".
"5G expansion is at that heart of this ambition – it is good news for Londoners, innovation, and business," said Khan.
"At City Hall we are working hard right across the capital to ensure we have the network infrastructure needed through our new Connected London programme.
"EE’s ambitious investment in 5G sites demonstrates that our city is a great place to invest in innovative and future-facing digital connectivity."
The bad news is that 5G won't be free.
Marc Allera said he "believes customers will pay a little bit more for the extra reliability and speed of the 5G service".
Customers will need new 5G smartphones, and The Sun understands that you'll also need new 5G contracts – which may cost more.
How fast is 5G internet?
EE told The Sun that some users will experience peak speeds of more than 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).
The main improvement will be for average speeds, especially in busy areas. But speeds at the Canary Wharf trials have reached over 1.3Gbps.
At speeds of 1 gigabit per second, it would take eight seconds to download 1 gigabyte of data.
Netflix says 4K video takes up about 7 gigabytes of space per hour of footage.
So downloading an hour-and-a-half Netflix film in 4K to watch offline would require roughly 10GB of space.
With a 5G connection, that would take just 1 minute and 20 seconds.
And regular HD footage takes up about 3GB of footage per hour, so the same movie could be nabbed in High Definition roughly half the time.
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But speeds will eventually increase to multiple gigabits per second, once networks can support it.
For instance, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X50 chip for 5G smartphones promises around 4.5 gigabits per second, based on testing.
That could cut a 4K movie download down to around 20 seconds, if networks can beam those sorts of speeds to actual users.
Apple is expected to launch the first 5G iPhone in 2020.
Are you excited about 5G? Let us know in the comments!
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