O2 reveals ‘ultra fast’ 5G internet coming to 20 cities including London and Leeds by end of 2019 – is yours on the list?
BRITS across the UK will soon be able to get ultra-fast 5G internet speeds from O2.
The mobile network promises to launch 5G in six cities by October – followed by another 14 before the end of 2019.
It means O2 will be the third UK network to offer 5G speeds, behind EE and Vodafone.
5G is the "fifth generation" of mobile internet, and introduces significantly faster download speeds.
Early tests by The Sun on EE's network have revealed speeds in central London of around 400Mbps (megabits per second).
That's in contrast to typical 4G speeds, which would usually fall around 20Mbps to 50Mbps.
"5G is going to be a game-changer for our country," said Mark Evans, CEO of O2 parent firm Telefónica UK.
"Whether it's for people or businesses, the power of this next-generation network is going to unlock a world of possibilities."
Starting in October, O2 will turn 5G on in: Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Slough.
And by the end of 2019, 5G will also be available in: Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Coventry, Derby, Eton, Guildford, Leicester, Lisburn, Norwich, Nottingham, Reading, Stoke, and Windsor.
Then by summer 2020, O2 has promised to add another 30 cities, bringing the grand total to 50.
O2 said it will be prioritising key areas in towns and cities first.
These areas will be places where O2 expects more customers to need and use 5G.
5G internet – what is it?
Here’s what you need to know...
- 5G is the next generation of mobile phone networks
- Just like 4G made your mobile internet faster and more reliable compared to 3G, 5G will do the same again
- Phone networks across the UK are currently scrambling to introduce 5G phone speeds for Brits
- Typical 4G speeds today will typically fall between 50Mbps and 100Mbps
- But early 5G speeds will raise this bar to several hundred megabits-per-second
- And once 5G networks are advanced, you’ll expect to enjoy gigabit-per-second speeds
- However, you’ll need to upgrade your phone plan to a 5G tariff
- Also, not all smartphones support 5G internet – they’ll need to have a 5G-ready modem inside
- We’re only now starting to see 5G smartphones in 2019, so older phones won’t support the new speeds
- Many top phone makers have committed to making (or already launched) 5G-ready smartphones
- These include Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus, LG and Oppo
Rivals EE and Vodafone have adopted similar approaches, focusing on major cities first.
Experts think it's this headstart that has pushed O2 into launching 5G itself.
"O2 will finally join the 5G party. This feels somewhat forced upon in light of moves by the other mobile operators," Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight, told The Sun.
"Though O2 will be the last to offer 5G services, it is still early days as the network is not widely available.
"The move is good in the interests of UK and it will be one of the first countries in the world to have all mobile operators offering 5G connectivity."
O2 hasn't announced pricing for its 5G contracts yet – but they'll be expensive if rival offerings are anything to go by.
EE's 5G plans started from a hefty £54 a month, with one plan costing as much as £74 per month.
O2 cities confirmed for 5G revealed
Cities getting O2's 5G in October 2019:
- Belfast
- Cardiff
- Edinburgh
- Leeds
- London
- Slough
Cities getting O2's 5G by the end of 2019:
- Blackpool
- Bournemouth
- Bristol
- Coventry
- Derby
- Eton
- Guildford
- Leicester
- Lisburn
- Norwich
- Nottingham
- Reading
- Stoke
- Windsor
Cities getting O2's 5G by summer 2020:
- Aberdeen
- Bradford
- Brighton
- Birkenhead
- Birmingham
- Cambridge
- Glasgow
- Hove
- Kingston
- Liverpool
- Luton
- Manchester
- Milton Keynes
- Newbury
- Newcastle
- Northampton
- Plymouth
- Portsmouth
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Sunderland
- Warrington
- Wolverhampton
MOST READ IN TECH
We reveal the 5G phones you can already buy in the UK today.
It's also possible that Apple might launch the iPhone 11 with support for 5G later this year.
And the rumoured Sony Xperia XZ4 has also been tipped as a major 5G contender.
Will you be upgrading to 5G internet? Let us know in the comments!
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