O2 5G to arrive in 2019

[Chris_K]

O2 5G to arrive in 2019 as company builds a 5G Economy in partnership with British business.

• O2 to launch 5G network this year
• Four corners of the UK will kick-start O2 5G rollout – Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London
• To build a 5G Economy O2 is creating 5G innovation spaces for businesses of all sizes following demand for its FTSE 100 testbed opportunities

O2 today announces it will begin the rollout of its 5G network this year in the four corners of the UK. Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London will be the first to benefit from O2’s 5G network. Other areas of the UK will enjoy rollout from 2020 to coincide with the wider availability of 5G handsets.

O2 building a 5G Economy in partnership with British business
Following demand for its 5G testbed opportunities, from FTSE 100 and leading UK businesses, O2 is creating 5G innovation spaces across the country including in its Wayra accelerator hubs. The spaces will provide next generation 5G test environments accessible to business of all sizes alongside national launch to help fuel future innovation that will boost the British economy post-Brexit.

O2’s call out to the FTSE 100 in July 2018 has led to leading UK businesses – across the construction, retail, transport and utility sectors – partnering with O2 to explore innovative 5G use cases.  The use cases are anticipated to bring substantial business benefits by delivering efficiency savings while also having the potential to unlock new 5G enabled revenue streams.

Mark Evans, CEO, Telefónica UK, explained at the release of O2’s full year 2018 results that, while the company prepares for 5G rollout in 2019, it will work to build a 5G Economy in coalition with British industry, making the case for 5G in the UK and exploring the possibilities of the latest mobile standard.

Evans said:
“5G is a promise of so much more – for consumers, business, industry and public services.  O2 is working in partnership with British industry, encouraging businesses, big and small, to engage with the possibilities of 5G technology through both our testbed programme and launch deployment.”

“O2’s 5G network will arrive this year and we want the next-generation of mobile services to launch with a bang. 5G will benefit customers from launch, with better speeds and improved customer experience.  Following the demand from our FTSE 100 trials, we are extending our testbed opportunities so that businesses of all sizes can work us to build the 5G Economy. Mobile is one of the UK’s most powerful opportunities to strengthen our economy and improve the lives of British people and 5G is a significant milestone for this nation.”

[Cleoriff Level 87: Glorious]

Good news @Chris_K

We look forward to 1000's of posts asking when 5G is coming to 'their' area...

[Chris_K]

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@Cleoriff wrote:

Good news @Chris_K

We look forward to 1000's of posts asking when 5G is coming to 'their' area...

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For anyone thinking about asking "when" for their specific area/postcode, that's not information we currently have. The four corners of the UK is just the beginning of our 5G launch this year. We’ll bring 5G to many more locations in 2020 and we’ll announce those in time.

[madasaf1sh]

Hi Chris is this true 5G? or is this along the lines of AT&T's fake 5G which is in fact a LTE advanced network. 

Also what speeds can be expected on launch, and will customers need to be on a 5G tariff to use them, what will the fallback will it just be to 4G or will customers fall back to 2G 

Ta,
Andy

[Bambino]

Seeing as how the 4G rollout isn't completed as yet, I doubt that the 5G rollout will be any faster, as there's very new technology and equipment involved, I believe. It will probably be available to many by the time 6G is ready to roll out.

[Glory1 Level 43: Bright Spark]

Well living in London does have its advantages. Though I won't be celebrating just yet. I'll wait and see exactly when London gets 5G; 2019 has only just started and we've another 10 months to go before year end!