5G which is everything to everyone in terms of broadband connectivity and is the buzzword technology at present now has BT announcing that its BT Plus customers will be the first BT Mobile customers to get access to the 5G network in the autumn of 2019.
For avoidance of doubt we need to point out this is over the EE 5G network which in the tv adverts have people downloading TV boxsets in seconds before getting on a train.
The network is currently limited to the busiest areas of six cities across the UK but will expand to similar busy parts of a longer list that is London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry and Bristol.
For those who can afford a 5G handset this does gain you access to a network that should be a lot less crowded at peak times, this is a factor of both the enhancements 5G is bringing to the table and the limited take-up. The big unknown is if in another decade 5G will feel as crowded and slow as 4G does in some busy places. We have been here before when 4G launched and 3G was having problems and the same when 3G launched replacing GPRS services.
The BT Plus services are a subset of the full BT product range where the biggest advantage is the Keep Connected Promise i.e. a 4G Wi-Fi mini hub is sent out when the fixed line service breaks and BT mobile plans get switched to unlimited data immediately.
The 5G arrival is described as an upgrade, so likely to carry a price premium, how much we do not know yet but by the autumn there will hopefully be a wider choice of handsets that people can buy too.
Source: thinkbroadband