O2 UK Switches On 5G Standalone Mobile Broadband Network in Suffolk
Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today announced that they’ve switched-on their next-generation 5G Standalone (5GSA / 5G+) mobile broadband network across more of Suffolk (England), which is said to reach more than 760,000 residents and businesses across 434 towns and villages.
Just to recap. O2’s 5G+ rollout first began in February 2024 (here) and aims to reach “at least 90% outdoor coverage” in every location they cover. The operator’s latest rollout across Suffolk includes locations such as Ipswich, Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill, Felixstowe, Sudbury, Stowmarket, Newmarket, Beccles and Woodbridge.
The new 5G+ network is currently live across more than 86% of the UK’s population. The technology offers a pure end-to-end 5G network 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. By comparison, early 5G networks used a Non-Standalone (NSA) approach, which was hobbled by being partly reliant upon older and slower 4G infrastructure.
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Professor Robert Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering at O2, said:
“Our new 5G+ network is now live in Suffolk, providing an impressive upgrade for local people and businesses and creating new opportunities in and around the county.
Combined with investment as part of our Mobile Transformation Plan, we’re improving our mobile network every day to deliver a faster, more reliable experience for customers, futureproof connectivity and pave the way for future innovations.”
The new network is typically available to O2’s customers with compatible devices “at no extra cost“, although we do wish that mobile operators would start giving geographic coverage figures for their 5G+ network as population figures always sound better than the reality often shows.
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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I still find it fascinating how O2 is leading the way with the 5G standalone rollout but have no IPv6
Both O2 and Vodafone should move to a new modern data first IPv6 core like EE and Three have done, but O2 and Vodafone both seem to have a “mobile network is for calls and SMS” ideology when the whole world has moved onto IP and data, which EE and Three as a result (in my experience) feels like true mobile broadband on your phone
I am still waiting for 4G to work to be honest.
5G Standalone has been enabled in my area but I’m seeing a more responsive output through Sky Mobile lately. Does it being present improve NSA performance too?