U.K. telco EE, owned by telecommunications group BT, announced it has switched on its first 5G sites in six new cities across the U.K., the carrier said in a statement.
With these new launches, the telco now provides 5G services in 50 cities and large towns across the country.
EE announced the launch of 5G coverage in Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Sunderland. EE has also switched on its first 5G sites in Northampton, Stevenage and Wakefield.
EE initially launched 5G technology in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester in May.
The carrier also brought 5G to London Euston Station, Cardiff Central station, Glasgow’s Bath Street and St Enoch Square, Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium, and Coventry’s Council House and Cathedral ruins.
EE also announced plans to have 5G live in more than 70 cities and large towns across the U.K. by March 2020.
Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s consumer division, said: “We switched on the U.K.’s first 5G network in May, and this is another milestone towards keeping our customers connected 100% of the time. We’re leading the way in the U.K., with 4G and 5G coverage in more places than any other operator. Adding 5G to more cities and towns – and expanding our 5G coverage in each place – is helping us to always deliver the best mobile experience to our customers.”
EE also highlighted that its 5G network achieved the highest average download speed and highest 5G availability, according to the latest RootMetrics 5G testing in London, Birmingham and Cardiff.
EE said that the commercial launch is the first phase of the telco’s 5G rollout: a Non-standalone 5G New Radio deployment focused on using the combined power of 4G and 5G technologies. Phase 2, from 2022, will introduce the full 5G core network, enhanced device chipset capabilities, and increased availability of 5G-ready spectrum.
EE said that higher bandwidth and lower latency, coupled with expansive and growing 5G coverage, will enable a more responsive network, enabling immersive mobile augmented reality, real-time health monitoring, and mobile cloud gaming.
A third phase, beginning in 2023, will introduce Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), network slicing and multi-gigabit-per-second speeds. This phase of 5G will enable critical applications like real-time traffic management of fleets of autonomous vehicles and massive sensor networks.
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