EE to roll out London 5G trial

EE has announced the October switch-on of what it claims will be the UK’s first live 5G trial network, situated at London’s Tech City.

The initiative will take place across ten sites, made up of five small businesses and five homes. It will, in the words of the company, “demonstrate the ability of 5G to provide the highest speed mobile data connections, even in the most densely populated urban environments.”

Speaking of the roll-out, Marc Allera, CEO of BT's consumer business, said: “This live trial is a big step forward in making the benefits of 5G a reality for our customers, and in making sure that the UK is at the front of the pack for 5G technology.

“We’re focusing our resource and experience across EE and BT to ensure that we continue to lead the UK market with a mobile network that keeps giving our customers the best speeds and the best coverage. 5G is a fundamental part of our work to build a converged, smart network.”

The UK government’s minister for digital, Margot James, said: "We want the UK to be a global leader in 5G as part of our ambition to create a world-leading digital economy that works for everyone. Together with the government's own test beds and trials programme, industry initiatives like this will help deliver the benefits of this new revolutionary technology to businesses and consumers across the UK."

According to EE, the ‘trialists’ will be found over social media, a process which will take place in the coming weeks.