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Sky has launched its network in 21 locations throughout the UK
Sky Mobile joins five key competitors – Vodafone, EE, Three, BT, and O2 – in launching its own 5G network for British cities.
The locations are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Leeds, Slough, Leicester, Lisburn, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bradford, Sheffield, Coventry, Nottingham, Norwich, Bristol, Derby, and Stoke.
As is expected, all the locations for the primary launch are relatively major cities, leaving rural areas woefully without coverage. However, more locations must follow rapidly if Sky Mobile is to achieve its target of 50 by the coming summer, and these unnanounced locations may yet offer coverage to some of the UK’s harder-to-reach communities.
Without infrastructure of its own, Sky currently operates by piggybacking on O2’s system, which has contributed to it lagging behind rivals like Vodafone and EE.
For customers, Sky Mobile is following rivals Three and Vodafone in offering 5G for free on top of its existing 4G packages for no additional cost – provided you sign up for the brand’s loyalty programme, Sky VIP.
“We’re excited to be launching superfast 5G on the award-winning Sky Mobile network, and even more excited to be offering it free to all Sky VIP customers. Sky Mobile is the ideal choice for anyone who wants a faster mobile connection and great value,” said Paul Sweeney, MD of Sky Mobile.
With the launch initially aiming for November 2019, Sky Mobile’s delayed 5G network may have some catching up to do against its national rivals.
To keep abreast of all the latest in UK telecoms discussion, be sure to visit Connected Britain 2020
Also in the news:
BT strikes partnership with Google to offer cloud gaming
O2 joins Vodafone in testing OpenRAN
Vodafone’s FTTH network goes live in Cambridge
