O2 launches 5G network in six major UK cities including London, Leeds and SLOUGH
O2 is launching 5G across six major UK towns and cities today.
Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Leeds and unlikely candidate Slough were chosen as the initial launch areas by the network but it plans to reach 20 more UK locations by the end of the year.
Telefónica UK CEO Mark Evans said: "Today is a significant moment for our customers and our business as we switch on the O2 5G network.
"We’re launching with a range of tariffs that make it easy and fair for customers to access 5G, with flexible plans that cost no more than 4G.
"We’re also switching on 5G in important parts of towns and cities first, places where it will benefit customers and businesses most.
“I believe 5G is going to revolutionise the way people and businesses use mobile connectivity, unlocking huge possibilities for our economy and society."
What is 5G?
Here's what you need to know...
- The term 5G stands for 5th-generation, and is simply the next "version" of mobile phone networks.
- The world's network operators have settled on a new method of delivering mobile internet to your phone, making it possible to offer far higher download speeds.
- Early figures suggest you'll be able to download 4K movies in a matter of seconds, and buffering video will be a thing of the past.
- But 5G also promises low "latency" – the physical delay in transmitting data – which is a major boon for gamers, who desperately need their online actions to be sent and received as quickly as possible.
- EE is first across the line in the UK, with 5G live in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham or Manchester.
- The good news is that EE plans to roll out 5G in a further 10 cities by the end of 2019: Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry and Bristol.
- Vodafone has also switched on 5G in seven cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, and London.
He added: "No one in the country has all the answers today, but I’m excited about getting it into the hands of our customers and working with leading partners to help shape the future of 5G for the next generation.”
The O2 5G network will initially be switched on where the company thinks it's most needed.
This includes London Waterloo and Kings Cross stations and Belfast South city centre.
O2 is aiming for its 5G to be live in 50 cities by 2020.
From today, customers looking to get a 5G contract can select from a new range of plans, starting at £25.
You'll need to make sure you have the right handset though as only certain phones can access 5G because it requires special technology loaded into the handset.
O2 currently offers four 5G-enabled devices, which are the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G; Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G; Samsung Galaxy A90 (5G); and the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G.
O2 has also revealed an exclusive partnership tariff with Oculus from Facebook and MelodyVR.
It says that this is for music in virtual reality settings and will give users of the Oculus VR goggles "exclusive VR music experiences", such as attending an O2 concert from their living room.
MelodyVR aims to give greater access to concerts and has said it's delighted to be working with O2.
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In other news, Vodafone switched on its 5G network in July.
Here are the super-fast 5G phones you can buy right now.
And, here's how to tell if you have 5G in your area.
What do you think of 5G? Let us know in the comments!
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