EE launches UK’s first 5G service
The next generation of mobile phone networks has launched in the UK after EE turned on the country’s first commercially available 5G signals.
The commercial launch means the UK, one of the last major economies to launch 4G, is ahead of much of Europe, where the new wireless technology has so far only gone live in Switzerland and a handful of smaller countries including Monaco, Jersey and San Marino. Vodafone is to launch 5G in the UK next month.
The technology has also already been launched in the US and South Korea.
The launch of 5G in Europe has been overshadowed by the debate about the role of Huawei, the Chinese equipment supplier, in the industry. EE, alongside all the UK networks, has continued to use Huawei equipment in its radio access network although it has, along with Vodafone, “paused” the launch of 5G handsets from the company as a result of the export ban placed on the supplier by the US government.
However, EE’s launch partly allays fears that Huawei’s problems could delay 5G’s arrival in Europe.
“Many commentators argue that Europe is trailing in 5G, and in some respects this is true,” said Ben Wood, an analyst with CCS Insight. “But it’s important to recognise that fledgling debuts in the region, including EE’s today, arrive ahead of launches in China and Japan and are not much behind those in South Korea. It’s full speed ahead in the UK from now on.”
EE was also the first to launch 4G in the UK, which gave it a competitive advantage over its main rivals and ultimately led to the £12.5bn acquisition of the company by BT. It has moved to push ahead with 5G as BT, under new chief executive Philip Jansen, works to put network investment — both fibre and 5G — at the heart of its strategy.
The launch is limited to certain parts of six of the UK’s largest cities, where it will be key to alleviating data congestion. EE expects to add about 100 new sites per month as it expands the network but expects consumer take-up to be gradual.
The variant of 5G that has been launched in effect shares a signal with 4G networks. A full standalone version of the new network will not be available until 2022, with a more advanced version offering ultra-reliable low-latency signals not coming until 2023, according to EE.
Roughly 450,000 EE customers have registered their interest in upgrading to a 5G handset, with about 1,500 shipped on Thursday. About 100 customers flocked to St Pauls in London on Thursday morning to get a OnePlus 5G handset.
EE is charging a premium of about £5 for 5G packages but will bundle in content including BT Sports and Netflix to justify the extra cost. Vodafone has said it will not charge a premium compared with its top-level 4G packages.
Initial tests by the Financial Times using the OnePlus handset in central London showed speeds of 127 Mbps compared with 16.3 Mbps on a 4G handset.
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