EE, the UK’s largest mobile operator has announced it will switch on the UK’s first 5G trial network in East London this October, allowing real customers and business to experience 5G for the first time.
The trial will see EE switch on 5G switched at 10 sites around the East London area, including City Road, Old Street, Hoxton Square, St Paul’s and Chiswell Street. Five small businesses and five homes will have the chance to get connected to the unique 5G launch to trial the new technology, using prototype 5G broadband devices. In the coming weeks, EE will be using social media to find the UK’s first ever 5G trialists.
The live trial will demonstrate the ability of 5G to provide the highest speed mobile data connections, even in the most densely populated urban environments. 5G will create more reliable and responsive mobile internet connections, enabling widespread adoption of technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality in apps and services. EE aims to deliver live speeds in excess of one gigabit per second with this first trial!
EE is hoping to be the first UK operator to launch 5G (just like it did with 4G), and will build the new mobile technology on top of its award-winning 4G network, boasting the fastest speeds and the widest coverage.
Minister for Digital, Margot James, said: “We want the UK to be a global leader in 5G as part of our ambition to create a world-leading digital economy that works for everyone. Together with the Government’s own test beds and trials programme, industry initiatives like this will help deliver the benefits of this new revolutionary technology to businesses and consumers across the UK.”
Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer business, said: “This live trial is a big step forward in making the benefits of 5G a reality for our customers, and in making sure that the UK is at the front of the pack for 5G technology. We’re focusing our resource and experience across EE and BT to ensure that we continue to lead the UK market with a mobile network that keeps giving our customers the best speeds and the best coverage. 5G is a fundamental part of our work to build a converged, smart network that keeps our customers connected to the things that matter most.”
4G opened up a whole new world of things you could do with your smartphone, 5G is set to allow even more. You’ll be able to download files, play online games and pay for things even faster than you can today. Uploading something to the cloud will be as fast as storing files locally.
The new 5G network will also be a vital tool in the roll out of self-driving cards and home automation. Millons of smaller devices will also benefit from 5G, from traffic lights, to virtual reality headsets to wearables.
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