Vodafone announces 5G in 12 more UK towns and cities
Vodafone has announced 12 more cities will benefit from faster mobile data speeds and an ultra-responsive network when 5G goes live later this year.
These additional locations join the seven cities that are already live or switching on soon under its UK-wide trial, which started last year. Vodafone will now launch 5G in 19 towns and cities across the UK during 2019.
Alongside the seven cities already announced, Vodafone’s 5G will launch in Birkenhead, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Guildford, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Reading, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington and Wolverhampton this year. It will also launch 5G in Newbury, the original home of Vodafone and the location of its technology headquarters.
Vodafone became the first UK company to carry 5G traffic over a commercial mobile network in October 2018 from a location in Salford, Greater Manchester. Now sites in Bristol, Cardiff and Liverpool have been switched on and are streaming live 5G mobile data traffic to and from the Internet, using the latest compatible routers.
Meanwhile engineers have installed 5G antennas and associated equipment in Birmingham, Glasgow and London ahead of going live. All of its mobile sites are connected to Vodafone RedStream, a nationwide optical fibre network, with connections giving speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second to ensure customers wishing to stream video without buffering can do so even in built-up areas at busy times of the day.
In addition to live field trials, Vodafone is also rigorously testing the performance of 5G smartphones, processors and routers in its Newbury technology headquarters using the latest industry standards which were approved in December 2018.
5G promises device speeds around 10 times faster than 4G, meaning high quality 4K video calls and downloads will be delivered even quicker to smartphones and tablets. Data transfer of less than 20 milliseconds will be standard, which is great news for mobile users like gamers, who up until now have had to rely on home broadband when playing online. 5G will also deliver response times of less than five milliseconds into smart factories, connecting robots and mobile machines.
Vodafone UK Chief Technology Officer Executive Scott Petty said: “Our multi-billion-pound network investment and leading position in setting global standards will ensure our customers have the very latest 5G releases and technology. 5G will also usher in a new era where everyone and everything is better connected, whether you are running a hotel in Portsmouth or broadcasting live at MediaCity in Salford.”
