Exciting news today as 5G was launched across the country by BT-owned EE through a 5G powered live concert with a performance by Stormzy!
[Image via the Evening Standard]
The launch covered 5 major UK cities; London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester. They have then promised more 5G rollouts in other major cities; has yours made the list for later this year?
[Image via EE]
EE have promised that 5G will be a more reliable connection; we’ve all been there in a busy place such as a festival or packed beach where there are so many devices in one area, that the whole network becomes overwhelmed then no one can connect. Content then either loads much later or doesn’t load at all!
There will be faster speeds up to 300mps! This means that you can download larger films in seconds rather than minutes and streaming will of a higher quality.
They have also promised instantaneous connections – whether these are to smart home devices, streaming services or other online services.
So how much faster will it be?
3G Network – 384 KB per second
4G Network – 100 MB per second
5G Network - 1-10 GB per second or higher
[Statistics from 5g.co.uk]
The expectation is that by 2020 the speed will be up to 1GB per second.
To use the new 5G network you will need a 5G-enabled phone. However, his year, Glastonbury will be the first 5G connected festival to enjoy the increased connectivity and speeds via a 5G compatible WiFi. This means you can benefit from the increased speeds at the festival without buying a new phone. Now… just need to make sure you don’t drop your phone in the mud instead!