O2 UK Expand 5G Standalone Mobile Broadband Network to Sheffield
Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) has this morning announced that they’ve switched-on their next-generation 5G Standalone (5GSA) mobile broadband network in Sheffield and surrounding areas in South Yorkshire (England). The move forms part of their UK-wide rollout, which is now live in a total of more than 500 locations (70% of the UK’s population or c.49 million people).
Just to recap. 5GSA networks are pure end-to-end 5G that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better speeds (particularly uploads), network slicing, improved support for IoT devices, increased reliability and security etc. Existing 5G networks often use a Non-Standalone (NSA) approach, which is hobbled by being partly reliant upon older and slower 4G infrastructure.
O2’s 5GSA rollout first began in February 2024 (here) and typically aims to reach “at least 90% outdoor coverage” in every location they target. The same should hold true for Sheffield, where roughly 580,000 residents across the city and in surrounding areas will be able to benefit from the new 5GSA network.
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The surrounding areas mentioned above are said to include Chapeltown, Mexborough, Wombwell, Swinton, Conisbrough, Dinnington, Wickersley, Rossington, Bessacarr, Armthorpe, Bentley, Maltby, Hoyland and Thurnscoe.
Dr Robert Joyce, O2’s Director of Mobile Access Engineering, said:
“Our new 5G Standalone network is now live in Sheffield, providing an impressive upgrade for local people and businesses and creating new opportunities in and around the city. We are investing every single day to improve our mobile network and provide a more reliable experience for our customers, with these upgrades futureproofing our network and paving the way for exciting innovations that lie ahead.”
As usual, O2’s upgrade will be available to customers with compatible devices “at no extra cost“.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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What the point of 5G? We rather to see more stable and reliable 4G/4G+
5G NSA is no good, always kept getting connected and disconnected every minutes and drain battery mobile.
What’s the point of the internet, libraries were good enough..
Also 5G can control nanochips injected with covid vaccination, stay safe Phil 😉
We? I think you’re just speaking for yourself here.
Personally I’m quite glad to see the upgrades, o2 deserve this win! I’m a customer of both BT mobile (yes not EE still BT mobile) and o2 and I must say I am pleasantly surprised with how well they’re doing. Granted it’s not as fast as it could be. But it’s certainly more reliable than it used to be. I recall having so many issues with o2 when their 4G was rolled out, previously their 3G was fantastic. So I’m glad that switching the 3G off to free up spectrum for 5GSA.
And for people not understanding the fuss. Imagine you’ve just changed the water pipes from lead to copper, you don’t see why it has to be done or what the benefits are but you do feel the difference and welcome the benefits.