3 UK announced it will launch its 5G services in August, starting with a home broadband service in London. Mobile and home broadband offerings over the 5G network will then expand to 25 towns and cities across the UK before the end of the year.
The announcement follows trials in London of the 5G home broadband service using the operator's spectrum in the C band. 3 said it's been updating its network across the busiest areas of the UK, including London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, as part of its 5G infrastructure investment commitment which includes also a new 5G-ready cloud core network provided by Nokia.
The company said its 5G services will offer much better speeds and capacity than its competitors due to its extensive spectrum holdings and investment in high-capacity 'smart' antennas. At launch, peak mobile speeds will be at least 2x faster than other mobile network operators and will provide a more reliable connection and experience for customers, the company said.
The home broadband service is expected to offer speeds comparable to fibre, with a 'plug and play' experience. Home broadband customers will see the simplicity of plugging a hub into the wall to become connected, without lengthy engineer wait times or a long-term contract, according to the company.
3 UK expects the 5G network to expand to cover 80 percent of its network traffic within three years. The network investment programme also includes upgrades to the 4G network, expected to deliver up to 400 percent improvements in speed and capacity. This will be achieved through deploying more 4G spectrum, converting 3G spectrum to 4G and using advanced antenna technology.
A further announcement will be made in July on the 5G handset range and pricing.
