O2 5G now available in 150 UK towns and cities

[Chris_K]

• O2 surpassed targets to reach over 150 UK towns and cities
• New places include Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Doncaster and Southampton
• O2 increases 5G footprint in London, Birmingham & Glasgow amongst others  
• Focus now on densification to improve customer experience as O2 plans to invest more than ever before in its network
• O2 also monitoring key sites such as hospitals & supermarkets to maintain connectivity and is providing 40GB free data a month to support home schooling families

O2 has continued to roll out 5G at pace, with customers in over 150 UK towns and cities now able to take advantage of the high-speed network. New locations now live include Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Doncaster and Southampton, and O2 has significantly increased its 5G coverage footprint in bigger cities such as London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester.

The announcement comes at an important time for 5G, with a focus on superfast connectivity at an all-time high during lockdown and as customers continue to transition to the network via new handsets, with O2 currently offering over 30 different 5G-enabled devices. O2 will continue to rollout 5G where customers need it, with urban areas receiving added coverage through more cell sites, in-building solutions and small cell deployments.

O2 remains committed to its role in rebuilding Britain, and keeping the country connected during the third national lockdown. It is continuing to monitor key sites such as hospitals and supermarkets to ensure they remain connected and is investing more than ever in its network to improve coverage and experience for all its customers across the UK. The need for remote connectivity was highlighted in the fact that the O2 website saw a significant increase in traffic over the Christmas period, with online orders increasing by over 40% year-on-year.

Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer at O2 said: “We are delighted with the progress of our 5G rollout and to be able to offer customers in over 150 locations the benefits of our new high-speed network.

“Once again, we are facing tough lockdown restrictions and we are focused on ensuring we meet the demand for increased network capacity and reliability to keep everyone connected during this time. We’re also proud of leading the charge from an environmental point of view, with 67% of our estate powered by renewable energy as we work with landlords to encourage usage of more renewable sources.”

The need for 5G has never been greater, with demand for network capacity and reliability increasing in lockdown. In partnership with the Department for Education, O2 last week announced it would offer 40GB free data a month to support home schooling families and enable disadvantaged pupils in years three to 11 to Get Help with Tech and continue their learning from home.

Those wanting to know where they can access 5G can visit O2’s coverage checker to get the latest information.

[jonsie]

It's not spread from Manchester to the outlying areas yet but I envisage that to be years away