The race is truly one to make your smartphone faster with a number of the UK’s biggest networks making the switch to 5G.
EE launched is new signal in May and Vodafone called on the Lewis Hamilton to hit the button on 5G last week.
Three has also revealed its plans to bring customers much better speeds from August and O2 is expected to announce more details about 5G at the end of this month.
So, with these rivals all vying for your business which network is really best?
Here’s our guide to what everyone has on offer.
EE 5G RELEASE
EE was the first to market with its 5G signal being officially switched on across parts of the UK.
This means if you live in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester you should be able to find much faster speeds being beamed to your phone.
EE says it will then roll out 5G rapidly from with more than 100 new 5G sites per month being added, providing 5G in: Bristol, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow
Ten more towns and cities announced as initial 5G locations for 2020 with more to follow: Aberdeen, Cambridge, Derby, Gloucester, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Southampton, Worcester and Wolverhampton
Of course, to use 5G you’ll need a compatible device and EE currently has a number options available including phones from Samsung, OnePlus, LG, and Oppo available from around £50 per month.
It’s currently hard to say just how good EE’s 5G is but Express.co.uk has had the chance to test this network in London with us recording speeds of over 300Mbps which is around 10 times faster than the average fixed-line broadband.
Along with that mobile signal, EE has also just launched its 5GEE WiFi service.
EE says it will offer the service with the HTC 5G Hub – the very first 5G mobile broadband device available in the UK. The HTC 5G Mobile Smart Hub will allow customers to benefit from smooth 4K video streaming, low-latency gaming, and 5G mobile hotspot connections for up to 20 users.
VODAFONE 5G RELEASE
Vodafone’s big 5G announcement took place last week with F1 star, Lewis Hamilton, switching on this rapid signal in London.
The first areas to access the new network will include Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and London with more areas being added throughout the year.
Although Vodafone only has two 5G devices on contract right now the company has said it is launching fully unlimited SIM-only plans.
The best of these is called Vodafone Unlimited Max.
At £30 per month this will give users unlimited mobile access at speeds as fast as the device and the network will allow.
There’s also two other plans called Vodafone Unlimited (£26) which offers speeds of up to 10 Mbps and Vodafone Unlimited Lite (£23 per month) that offers speeds of up to 2 Mbps.
Along with the plans, Vodafone has also announced a 5G router – the 5G GigaCube.
The 5G GigaCube is ideal for use in the home and office, giving customers high-speed broadband access up to 10 times faster than 4G.
Speaking about the news, Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffery said: “5G will transform the way we live and work. Our customers are streaming over 50% more content today than they did last year, and with 5G the demand for data is only set to increase.
“That is why we want to remove the limits on data, so that customers can unlock the full potential of 5G, and we can really propel the UK into the digital age.
“By offering unlimited plans to our consumer and business customers, we will revolutionise the market. We will give customers all the data they need, when and where they want it.”
THREE 5G RELEASE
Three Mobile customers will finally get access to 5G next month with the company boasting that, at launch, its technology will be at least two times faster than any other UK provider.
In fact, Three is convinced it will be the only network that can offer a ‘true’ 5G experience.
The firm has revealed a £2 billion infrastructure investment which includes the acquisition of the UK’s leading 5G spectrum portfolio, a world first cloud core network from Nokia, and a super high-capacity smart antenna network.
Three will begin by pushing its 5G signal straight into homes in a bid to shake up the fixed-line broadband market.
Along with being much faster than most current fixed-line options, Three says that its 5G wireless home broadband is estimated to save people £240 per year as there won’t be any need to have a phone line or expensive installation.
The full list of cities which Three will begin rolling out 5G are as follows,
London, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Middlesbrough,Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Reading, Rotherham, Sheffield, Slough, Sunderland, Wolverhampton.
Speaking at the launch of 5G, Dave Dyson, CEO at Three, said: “It’s clear that consumers and businesses want more and more data.
“We have worked hard over a long period of time to be able to offer the best end to end 5G experience. 5G is a game changer for Three, and of course, I am excited that we will be the only operator in the UK who can offer true 5G.”
Source: Read Full Article