If you follow mobile news, you already know that 5G networks are coming soon. While so far it’s hard to know how much 5G will affect our everyday lives, it’ll no doubt boost VR, augmented reality, autonomous vehicles and remote surgeries, among other new technologies. Already, there are some carriers and phones that support 5G in different countries. Here, we’ll focus on UK 5G carriers and 5G phones and by extension, 5G in other parts of Europe.
Top UK 5G carriers in late 2019
One of the biggest UK 5G carriers is Vodafone. This global company is one of the companies already setting up 5G networks and providing options for contracts and affordable 5G plans. Vodafone also offering a broadband bundle and other options. Because of its global reach and lower costs, Vodafone seems to be the best positioned to make money in the market of 5G.
Another carrier with 5G capability is Sky Mobile. They were the second UK carrier to announce 5G plans, but they won’t have contracts until November 2019. In addition, Sky will be using 02’s 5G network, so they will provide the same 5G coverage as O2. Six cities will launch in November. By the end of 2019 there will be 14 UK cities with 5G, and 50 cities in the UK by the summer of 2020.
For its part, O2 will go live with their UK 5G network in October 2019. It will prioritise coverage in several cities around the UK, including Cardiff, Slough, Leeds, Belfast, Edinburgh, and London. This also includes business areas, large sports and entertainment locations, and transport links. O2’s network is already large and it will get larger.
Finally, Three is a carrier that has been buying up 5G radio frequencies that they claim will not be used by another carrier. Three’s mobile plans are relatively affordable, and the carrier offers 5G at no extra cost. Three’s 5G service launches by the end 2020 and will cover 25 cities across the UK. These include London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Reading, and Brighton.
5G phones in the UK — and beyond
The biggest company with the most 5G capability is Samsung from South Korea, the country with far and away the most advanced 5G technologies. Samsung currently offers a few new phones with 5G capabilities. Their Galaxy Note series are 5G phones that come in multiple sizes and options.
Another company with 5G phones is China’s Huawei (pronounced either Hwah-way or Wah-way, depending if you prefer its respective Mandarin Chinese or its global brand pronunciation). But because Huawei has been accused of cooperating with the Chinese government and their surveillance apparatus, the US has banned government use of Huawei phones, and been urging allies not to work the firm.
However in the UK, Huawei has already been helping set up 5G networks — much to the ire of the United States. And Huawei 5G phones are still widely available and affordable — especially compared to 5G phones from Samsung and Apple.
Apple is lagging behind on 5G, and so far has not announced any 5G-capable products. Though based on announcements from Apple’s developer event this summer, we expect to see a 5G iPhone and 5G iPad very soon. But it doesn’t seem to matter that Apple is behind Huawei and Samsung, because they are confident in their legions of followers. According to the site MoneyPug, which is known for being a great spot to find mobile phone deals, sources familiar with Apple say that it’s working on 5G and has filed patents.
Our 5G future: a huge opportunity
These are not your only UK 5G phone options, but they are the biggest names who are continuing to roll out 5G-ready phones and other products. In Europe and around the world, 5G carriers will expand, and more 5G carriers and 5G phones will come onto the market.
Experts estimate that 5G will inject trillions of dollars into the global economy, so those who get through the 5G door early should be in a great position in the future.
