News
The launch will begin with a fixed wireless access home broadband offering in London, followed closely by mobile network services across the country
Three UK is set to launch its 5G network in the UK in August 2019, with the network covering 25 towns and cities across the country by the end of the year.
The August launch will offer a plug and play, fixed wireless access 5G home broadband service for customers in London, with mobile network services being rolled out across the country shortly after.
Rather aptly, Three will become the third UK mobile network operator to launch 5G services, after EE (31st of May) and Vodafone (3rd of July). The UK’s other big MNO, O2, has yet to announce a firm launch date for 5G in the UK.
“It’s clear that consumers and businesses want more and more data. We have the UK’s best network for data and we have led the market on customer usage on both 3G and 4G technologies. We have worked hard over a long period of time to be able to offer the best end to end 5G experience. 5G is a game changer for Three, and of course I am excited that we will be the only operator in the UK who can offer true 5G,” said Dave Dyson, CEO at Three.
Three has the largest holding of 5G spectrum of any of the UK’s big four MNOs, with 140MHz of spectrum in the bank, including a 100MHz contiguous block. By comparison, Vodafone has a total of 50MHz of spectrum and both EE and O2 have 40MHz each.
Three claims that its superior spectrum holding will allow it to offer faster and more reliable connections than that of its competitors. Three has spent around £2 billion building its 5G network around the UK, including the installation of a 5G ready cloud-based core, supplied by Nokia.
Three’s chief executive officer, Dave Dyson, will be sharing his plans for 5G in the UK at this year’s Connected Britain event, in London. Held from the 18th-19th of June 2019, Connected Britain will bring together the key stake holders from the UK’s mobile and fixed line connectivity sectors. Click here for a full agenda and to find out how you can attend the event.
