Vodafone 5G will be in 19 cities by the end of 2019
Last week, Vodafone announced that it had switched on 5G sites in Liverpool, Cardiff and Bristol in advance of a broader launch of the latest generation of mobile communications throughout the UK later this year.
The company stated that it will launch 5G service in a total of 19 cities and towns across the country this year. Vodafone was the first operator in the UK to transmit 5G traffic over a commercial mobile network last October in Salford, Greater Manchester.
The company has installed 5G antennas in London, Glasgow and Birmingham in advance of taking the service live. In addition to Newbury, which is the location of Vodafone UK’s headquarters, the remaining towns and cities slated to receive 5G service include Wolverhampton, Warrington, Stoke-on-Trent, Southampton, Reading, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Guildford, Bournemouth, Blackpool and Birkenhead.
The company will connect all the sites previously mentioned to Vodafone Redstream, which is the company’s nationwide optical fibre network that offers a maximum speed of 10gbps.
Device speeds for 5G service are expected to be about 10 times quicker than 4G, and standard data transfer speeds will be less than 20 milliseconds.
Vodafone UK CTO 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.”