MOBILE 5G Update
“Our Soho and SME customers tell us they see their data allowance as a data limit. Today, we are
removing this constraint” Anne Sheehan, Business Director of Vodafone UK
Big Four Line Up for 5G Battle
The introduction of 5G promises much for users and businesses in the UK. Being first to market by a matter of
days or weeks provides little or no early mover advantage for a technology where all suppliers will basically be
using the same infrastructure hardware. As ever in a mainly commodity market, differentiation will be difficult
Faster speeds and better
connectivity are always real
draws for smartphone users
and there is little doubt
that 5G heralds a signicant
step forward for the telecoms
industry.
On its 5G launch EE
signalled an aggressive intention
to seek out business customers
announcing new 5G plans
plus a range of six new 5G
smartphones and devices.
Applications working on the
service were demonstrated live
on BBC breakfast programs.
From this date SMEs and
larger businesses could preorder
from EE a range of 5G
smartphones available in the
UK, including devices from
Samsung, OnePlus, LG and
Oppo. A variety of 5G business
mobile plans are available,
including SIM only and mobile
sharer deals. At the same time
business users will be able benet
from access to a range of valueadded
features such as businessgrade
mobile security, exible
data options, unlimited calls and
texts and swappable benets.
EE expects customers to
see an increase in speeds of
around 100-150Mbps even in
the busiest areas, with some
customers achieving 1Gbps on
their 5G smartphones. is
will allow business users to
send bandwidth-hungry les in
seconds rather than minutes,
stream in the highest resolution
and enjoy perfect video calls.
EE’s 5G handset plans
for SMEs will start from £45
per month for 10GB of data,
extending to £70 per month for
the biggest data allowance of
100GB.
O2 recently announced that
they will be rolling out 5G
in “four corners” of the UK
chosing London, Edinburgh,
Cardi and Bristol as the
rst locations to receive the
new airwaves but are yet to
announce a date at the time of
going to print.
Vodafone has announced
plans to oer Vodafone
Business Unlimited – a series
of new plans that give business
customers access to ‘Unlimited
data’ and 5G at the same price
as 4G. Vodafone also becomes
the rst UK provider to oer
5G roaming in four European
countries over the summer.
Vodafone’s 5G plans with
unlimited data start at £19.16
per month for the Lite service,
£21.66 for the standard service
and Unlimited Max with
the roaming deal is £25.00 a
month.
Speaking at the launch of
their 5G service. Anne Sheehan,
Business Director of Vodafone
UK, said, “Our Soho and SME
customers tell us they see their
data allowance as a data limit.
Today, we are removing this
constraint. Vodafone Business
Unlimited and Business Add-
Ons will provide everything
businesses need to thrive,
including connectivity, data,
apps, services and support. It
is part of our commitment to
be the go-to Digital Partner for
UK businesses.”
ree, which is owned by
Hutchison, said it would not
share details about the cost of its
services at the time of going to
print.
5G SERVICE LAUNCHES
• Vodafone: From 3 July 2019 Vodafone’s 5G service was launched in
5G in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff
and Bristol. Service will arrive in Birkenhead, Blackpool, Bournemouth,
Guildford, Newbury, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Reading, Southampton,
Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington and Wolverhampton later this year.
• EE: The first of the big three to launch, EE, a part of BT, unveiled its 5G
service on 30th May when the firm switched on 5G in London, Cardiff,
Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester. Cities expected to
receive 5G down the line are: Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds,
Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry and Bristol.
• Three: Three will launch its first 5G network this August in London,
before extending it to 25 other UK towns and cities before the end of
the year. The telecoms company will kick off with a home broadband
service in the capital but is also launching mobile services.
• O2: London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Bristol will be the first cities to receive
5G from O2. The operator says it plans to roll out 5G before the year is out
and will continue to add cities to that list in 2019 ‘and beyond.’
52 | Comms Business Magazine | August 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
/www.commsbusiness.co.uk
