EE became the first mobile operator to launch 5G in the UK. That was back in May, 2019, and since then we’ve seen Vodafone, O2 and Three launch their own 5G services, along with some MVNOs (discussed below).
| Network | 5G Launch Date | Major Towns and Cities with 5G |
|---|---|---|
| May, 2019 | 41 | |
| July 2019 | 26 | |
| February, 2020 | 38 | |
| October 2019 | 21 | |
| October, 2019 | 41 | |
| January, 2020 | 21 | |
| March, 2020 | 21 | |
| October, 2019 | 26 |
There are currently 73 major towns and cities in the UK with 5G coverage on at least one mobile network.
EE 5G coverage is currently available in 41 major locations (plus numerous smaller ones), Vodafone 5G is in 26 locations (plus a number of smaller ones), O2 is in 21, Three is in 38 (as well as offering 5G Home Broadband in London). The major 5G locations are listed below.
| EE +BT | Vodafone +VOXI | Three | O2 +Sky +Tesco | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Bath | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Belfast | ✔ | ✔ | – | ✔ |
| Birkenhead | – | ✔ | ✔ | Summer 2020 |
| Birmingham | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Blackpool | – | Q1 2020 | ✔ | Q1 2020 |
| Bootle | – | ✔ | – | – |
| Bradford | – | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| Brighton | – | – | ✔ | Summer 2020 |
| Bristol | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cardiff | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Chatham | ✔ | – | ✔ | – |
| Coventry | ✔ | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| Derby | 2020 | – | – | ✔ |
| Doncaster | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Dudley | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Dundee | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Edinburgh | ✔ | ✔ | – | ✔ |
| Gatwick | – | ✔ | – | – |
| Gillingham | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Glasgow | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Guildford | ✔ | 2020 | ✔ | Q1 2020 |
| Hamilton | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Harlow | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Hemel Hempstead | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Huddersfield | ✔ | – | ✔ | – |
| Hull | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Kingston Upon Thames | ✔ | – | – | Q1 2020 |
| Ipswich | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Lancaster | – | ✔ | – | – |
| Leeds | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Leicester | ✔ | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| Lichfield | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Lisburn | ✔ | – | – | ✔ |
| Liverpool | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Llandudno | – | ✔ | – | – |
| London | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Luton | – | – | ✔ | Summer 2020 |
| Maidstone | ✔ | – | ✔ | – |
| Manchester | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Motherwell | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Newbury | – | ✔ | – | Summer 2020 |
| Newcastle | ✔ | – | – | ✔ |
| Northampton | ✔ | – | – | Summer 2020 |
| Norwich | – | – | – | ✔ |
| Nottingham | ✔ | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| Oldham | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Paisley | – | ✔ | – | – |
| Peterborough | 2020 | – | ✔ | – |
| Plymouth | 2020 | ✔ | ✔ | Summer 2020 |
| Preston | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Reading | – | ✔ | ✔ | March 2020 |
| Rochdale | ✔ | ✔ | – | – |
| Romford | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Salford | ✔ | ✔ | – | – |
| Sheffield | ✔ | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| Slough | – | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| Solihull | ✔ | ✔ | – | – |
| St. Albans | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Stevenage | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Stockport | – | ✔ | – | – |
| Stoke-on-Trent | – | ✔ | – | ✔ |
| Sunderland | ✔ | – | ✔ | Summer 2020 |
| Sutton Coalfield | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Swansea | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Swindon | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Wakefield | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Walsall | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Warrington | – | ✔ | – | Summer 2020 |
| Watford | ✔ | – | – | – |
| West Bromwich | ✔ | – | – | – |
| Wigan | – | – | ✔ | – |
| Wolverhampton | ✔ | ✔ | Q1 2020 | Summer 2020 |
It should be noted that when a mobile operator states that 5G coverage is available in a city such as Manchester, it does not mean that Manchester has city-wide coverage – more likely it will be limited to the most heavily populated or trafficked areas. This will change in time.
5G coverage will roll out to at least a further 18 major towns and cities during 2020. You can see these below.
| Town/City | EE | Vodafone | Three | O2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | – | Q1 2020 | – | Q1 2020 |
| Cambridge | 2020 | – | – | Summer 2020 |
| Eton | – | – | – | Q1 2020 |
| Gloucester | 2020 | – | – | – |
| Hove | – | – | – | Summer 2020 |
| Middlesbrough | – | – | Q1 2020 | – |
| Milton Keynes | – | – | Q1 2020 | Summer 2020 |
| Portsmouth | 2020 | Q1 2020 | – | Summer 2020 |
| Rotherham | – | – | Q1 2020 | – |
| Southampton | 2020 | Q1 2020 | – | Summer 2020 |
| Windsor | – | – | – | Q1 2020 |
| Worcester | 2020 | – | – | – |
If your town or city is not listed in either of the sections above then check our full coverage pages for each individual network, as these also include smaller locations due to get 5G. If there’s no sign of your town or city there though, then at the time of writing there is no information available on when 5G will come to your area on any of the UK’s networks.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) don’t own their own physical network and instead use one of the UK’s core networks (EE, O2, Three and Vodafone) to provide their service. Therefore, they are reliant on the core networks allowing them to provide 5G to their customers.
So far BT, VOXI and Sky Mobile have already launched a 5G service, while Smarty has announced that it will be offering 5G at some point in the future.
Landlines may be considered by some to be old fashioned, expensive and unnecessary in this…
Nicholas Martin on The David Kurten Show – Tue 30 April 2024 Source
18 Apr 2024 Lara Hurley, Heritage Party candidate, on The David Kurten Show – Tue…
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He said: “We’re being poisoned and that is what we ought to…
Microwave exposure is harmful to birds. The use of wifi cameras inside owl boxes (and…
APR 27, 2024 By Helena Hjalmarsson, M.A., C.S.W., L.P., Special to The Kennedy Beacon “The cost…