Three will launch its 5G network in August, claiming it will be the fastest in the UK – but there’s one major catch. At launch, the 5G network will only be available in London as a home broadband service. Three said its 5G home broadband customers will be able to plug a hub into the wall to immediately become connected, without lengthy engineer wait times or a long-term contract. This “plug and play” 5G service is set to offer comparable speeds to fibre broadband, according to Three.
The company then plans to roll out both mobile and home broadband offerings in 25 towns and cities across the UK “before the end of the year”. Three has more than twice as much 5G spectrum as its closest competitor, which it claims will deliver significantly faster speeds for its customers. At launch, peak mobile speeds will be at least twice as fast as other mobile network operators, and will provide a more reliable connection and experience for customers, according to Three.
The full list of cities which Three will begin rolling out 5G by the end of 2019 is 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
The company also boasts that it is the only operator that can offer a “true” 5G experience, as set out by the global standards body on 5G technology, the ITU. This requires 80-100 MHz of contiguous spectrum in prime 5G mid-bands (eg. 3.5 GHz). As well as spectrum, Three has been investing in high-capacity smart antennas, in order meet the anticipated future demand for data.
Three has yet to announce pricing or handset availability on its network (it says more details will be given next month), but Huawei’s Mate 20 X 5G is unlikely to be among its 5G devices, after both EE and Vodafone decided to drop the handset over the manufacturer’s uncertain future.
