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Services will be live in 19 towns and cities across the UK by the end of 2019
Vodafone has announced that it will launch commercial 5G services in seven UK towns and cities, when it turns on its next generation network on the 3rd July 2019.
Vodafone will then scale up its 5G network reach to include a further 12 towns and cities across the UK by the end of 2019.
“We started our 5G journey more than three years ago. We led the way in setting 5G standards to ensure phones and networks work well together. We upgraded our masts to be able to take 5G without disruption. And we were the first UK company to test 5G over our all-fibre core fixed and mobile network," said Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffery.
“This is important. It means we can today announce the largest launch of 5G in the UK and be the first to announce 5G roaming. It means that UK businesses can lead the world in adopting 5G to boost productivity and attract investment. It means consumers can get the fastest mobile speeds ever, and it means that our public sector will be able to adopt new services to improve healthcare, social services and housing.”
Vodafone has stolen a march on its competitors by becoming the first of the UKs mobile network operators to announce a firm launch date for 5G. EE is expected to announce its own launch date at a press conference scheduled for next week.
Vodafone has announced that it will make several 5G compatible handsets available to its customers, including the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G, the Samsung S10 5G and Huawei’s Mate X.
Vodafone is also set to become the first telco to offer 5G European roaming to its customers later this summer, with services available in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.
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