Mobile 5G is phim xet an dorolling out across the UK, whether you're ready for it not.
Major service providers are joining the global party, launching their 5G service in cities and towns, but while this is one hell of a move forward, you'll find that most phones don't quite support it built-in yet.
If you're lucky enough to have a 5G device in your life though, here's where you exercise that sweet, sweet, need for super-fast internet speed. Just make sure you have unlimited data.
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SEE ALSO: Here are the cities where you can get mobile 5G service from major carriers in the U.S.
EE
First over the line, EE launched the UK's first next-generation 5G mobile network in May 2019, marking the occasion by livestreaming a gig by rapper Stormzy from a boat on the Thames. What a time.
Over the course of 2019 and 2020, EE is switching on 5G sites in 26 UK cities, with London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham, and Manchester making up phase one. Bristol has also been switched on, and you'll find pretty weak but nonetheless existent coverage in parts of Coventry and Leicester.
Here's where EE's 5G network is currently available:
London
Edinburgh
Birmingham
Belfast
Manchester
Cardiff
Bristol
Coventry
Leicester
Within currently available cities, EE switched on 5G in busy transport spots and popular tourist areas. Commuters travelling through Britain’s largest and busiest train station, London Waterloo, will be able to connect to 5G, as well as at other London stations like Liverpool Street, Charing Cross, Highbury and Islington, New Cross Gate Overground, and Shoreditch High Street Overground.
Elsewhere, 5G popped up in Market Street on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, Cardiff’s St David’s shopping centre and Morgan Arcade, Manchester's Albert Square, Belfast’s Great Northern Mall and City Hall, and Birmingham’s historical Victoria Square, the Mailbox and Brindley Place.
By the end of 2019, EE plans to roll out 5G to seven more cities: Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Sheffield. Then, in 2020, they'll be hitting Aberdeen, Cambridge, Derby, Gloucester, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Southampton, Wolverhampton, and Worcester.
Outside the cities, EE's 5G coverage is coming to busy towns and suburbs, including future rollouts in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and outside London — check out the list of planned spots on EE's website.
Vodafone
Second past the post, Vodafone switched on its 5G network on July 3, 2019 in seven cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and London. Now available in 30 locations, the provider is looking to launch in Blackpool, Bournemouth, Guildford, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, and Warrington by the end of 2019.
Currently, Vodafone's 5G network is available in:
Birkenhead
Birmingham
Bolton
Bootle
Bristol
Cardiff
Droylsden
Eccles
Glasgow
Horwich
Huyton-With-Roby
Lancaster
Liverpool
Llandundno
London
Manchester
Mangotsfield
Newbury
Paisley
Penarth
Plymouth
Prestwich
Salford
Solihull
Stoke-on-trent
Stretford
Wallasey
Warrington
Wolverhampton
Isles of Scilly
Three
Three was fittingly third to the party, switching on its 5G network on Aug. 19, 2019. Three announced at the time that it would be rolling out 5G across 25 cities in the UK by the end of 2019 and that all customers with a compatible device and within a 5G area would have free access. At present, however, Three's 5G network is only switched on within London, and is accessible through a home 5G broadband service.
BT
Although they ran a network trial in London's Canary Wharf in Oct. 2018, BT finally switched on their own network in 2019. 5G on BT Mobile launched on Oct. 11 in 20 towns and cities, including the busiest parts of Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Leicester, London, and Manchester.
BT hasn't published a full list of its available cities that we can find, although they do have a handy map so you check whether your area is covered. Notably, it's only available for BT Plus customers. So for now, here's where BT's 5G network is definitely available:
Belfast
Birmingham
Cardiff
Coventry
Edinburgh
Leicester
London
Manchester
O2
The most recent of the bunch, O2 rolled out its 5G network on Oct. 17 2019 in six locations across the UK. Those cities include:
Belfast
Cardiff
Edinburgh
London
Slough
Leeds
O2 said its network will switch on initially in key areas "where it's needed," noting busy spots like London's Waterloo and Kings Cross, and Haymarket in Edinburgh, or the Emirates Stadium. The network will be live in a total of 20 towns and cities by the end of 2019, and 50 by summer 2020.
Sky Mobile
Sky Mobile announced it would launch 5G connectivity on its network by Nov, 2019, starting with six towns and cities and planning a wider national rollout to 20 by the end of 2020. We're still yet to see a launch date, but the website now reads early 2020, so stay tuned.
Mashable will update this post when more providers join the 5G party or existing carriers switch on networks in more locations. Keep checking back!
Topics 5G