Home
 » ISP News, Key Developments » 
Sponsored Links

Three UK to Go Live with Ultrafast 5G Mobile at 65 Locations

Friday, Feb 14th, 2020 (12:02 am) - Score 71,586
three uk mobile broadband

After a delay Three UK (Hutchison 3G UK) has this morning announced the launch of their 5G mobile network for Smartphone users, which will be available across busy parts of 65 new locations from the end of this month. Previously they’d only been able to launch the network on their dedicated Mobile Broadband service.

Technically speaking Three UK’s 5G network began to go live in August last year, although its availability was initially restricted to central London and the only way to use it was via their dedicated unlimited Three Broadband service (£30 per month via 5G or £22 for 4G). Nevertheless the operator claimed that their initial customers were still enjoying average speeds of 232Mbps, with a peak of 1.1Gbps (apparently up from 30Mbps with 4G devices).

Under the original plan they expected their 5G footprint to reach 25 UK towns and cities by the end of 2019, but things didn’t go quite according to plan. Indeed they admitted in November 2019 that the work had been “more time consuming and complex than others, and, as a result, our 5G roll out is slightly behind our original plan” (here).

The delay was somewhat embarrassing but the good news is that their wider 5G mobile service – underpinned by one of the country’s first cloud core networks – will finally be going live across 65 new UK locations by the end of February 2020, which among other cities and towns includes big chunks of London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry and Nottingham (see full list below).

NOTE: One slight twist to today’s news is that their 5G Broadband service won’t be going live in the new locations, yet, despite being the first to launch.

Dave Dyson, CEO at Three, said:

“Today we are celebrating what is possible through 5G with a showcase of our ultra-fast 5G capabilities marking the next step in our 5G journey. 5G is set to change the world for all of us and we can’t wait for our customers to start experiencing it.”

Three UK claims to have somewhat of an advantage over their rivals in that they can harness a total of about 140MHz (frequency) across several related radio spectrum bands. One of those includes a 100MHz block of contiguous spectrum in the 3.4-3.8GHz band (here), which is known to be the sweet spot for 5G.

By comparison their rivals only have smaller slices of the 3.4GHz band to use at launch, although this will start to change later this year when Ofcom auctions off more spectrum for use alongside the new network technology.

NOTE: At present Vodafone only has 50MHz of 5G spectrum, while EE and O2 each hold 40MHz in the 3.4GHz band.

In the meantime the operator claims they’re “set up to be the fastest 5G network in the country” and will “provide peak mobile speeds of up to 2x faster than other telco operators.” However at present such claims should be taken with a pinch of salt, not least because they’ve yet to be proven via independent testing and how much spectrum you have is only part of the challenge (i.e. you also need plenty of backhaul capacity and cells for coverage).

Likewise any testing of early networks that is performed won’t currently tell us much because there’s likely to be plenty of spare capacity being shared between very few users (most people don’t own a 5G Smartphone yet and so can’t benefit from such a network).

Otherwise all of Three’s new and existing customers will have access to 5G with “no speed caps and at no extra cost” on all contract, SIM only and PAYG mobile plans.

Three UK’s 5G Mobile Launch Locations (66 inc. London)
ABERDEEN
ABINGDON-ON-THAMES
ALDERSHOT
BALLOCH
BARROW-IN-FURNESS
BASILDON
BATH
BEDFORD
BIRKENHEAD
BIRMINGHAM
BLACKPOOL
BOREHAMWOOD
BRADFORD
BRIGHTON
BRISTOL
BROOKMANS PARK
CANNOCK
CARDIFF / CAERDYDD
CHATHAM
CLAYTON-LE-WOODS
COVENTRY
CRAWLEY
CULLINGWORTH
DONCASTER
DUNDEE
GLASGOW
GOREBRIDGE
GRIMSBY
GUILDFORD
HEANOR
HEDGE END
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
HUDDERSFIELD
INCHINNAN
IPSWICH
LEEDS
LEICESTER
LEYLAND
LIVERPOOL
LONDON
LOWER STONDON
LUTON
MAIDSTONE
MANCHESTER
MOTHERWELL
NESTON
NEWQUAY
NOTTINGHAM
NUNEATON
PETERBOROUGH
PLYMOUTH
PRESTON
READING
REDCAR
ROYSTON
SHEFFIELD
SHELLY GREEN
SLOUGH
ST ALBANS
SUNDERLAND
SWADLINCOTE
SWANSEA / ABERTAWE
SWINDON
WESTHOUGHTON
WICKFORD
WIGAN

Share with Twitter
Share with Linkedin
Share with Facebook
Share with Reddit
Share with Pinterest
Mark-Jackson
By Mark Jackson
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 and .
Search ISP News
Search ISP Listings
Search ISP Reviews
Comments
120 Responses
  1. Avatar photo Graeme says:

    Good on them, decent size launch after a bit of work.

    Most users don’t yet have a 5G phone so it matters very little. Assuming Apple change that in September, then there will start to be more demand.

    It’s home broadband via 5G I’m most looking forward to, I suspect it’ll help either sort the Virgin retentions issue or allow an option to maintain high speed without them.

    1. Avatar photo Steve Blencowe says:

      Apple are late to the game. All of the latest Samsung phones launch with 5g so I suspect there will be a fair amount of interest. Myself included!

    2. Avatar photo Martin Mitchell says:

      Hi there,

      I do have a 5G ready smartphone. A Chinese version of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G. Phone works OK but with some limitations.

  2. Avatar photo Fabrizio says:

    I take it that if one has already a Huawei 5G CPE PRO then a data broadband Three sim will work though ?
    Basically they’re not offering the Huawei router in the new locations as they’re still relying on expanding the former relish broadband network or merge the two at a wild guess.

    1. Avatar photo Boff says:

      They will be merging both together over the course of a month.

  3. Avatar photo E says:

    Maybe this will finally be a move that takes three out of the slowest uk network.

    1. Avatar photo Brian Gregory says:

      What are you talking about? Three’s only weak point (admittedly a big one) is poor coverage. But if you’ve got coverage you get the best speeds on Three.

    2. Avatar photo Name says:

      No, it won’t. Poor radioline uplinks to masts + poor network coverage + narrow radio spectrum = no future for Three.

    3. Avatar photo Connor Milligan says:

      Three do have a small amount of LTE Spectrum, which has hampered their performance in 4G

      But their 5G holdings are much stronger than any other network so, if deployed correctly, will allow them to have much higher speeds than anyone else.

      I’m on Three and when on Band3 spectrum my speeds are very impressive, but when I drop to Band20 the speeds are very poor and that’s what three need to address. Even in cities I seem to drop down to B20 too frequently

    4. Avatar photo E says:

      Three is the slowest network in the uk. Look at OpenSingal, Rootmetrics and Nperf data constructions. Three UK is slowest for 3G&4G data combined. Slowest for 4G data alone. 3rd fastest for 3g data alone.

    5. Avatar photo Ronski says:

      Sat in my house, turned off WiFi and did a speed test

      https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/5756587805

      Just for good measure I did another

      https://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/5756596990

      I think we can be sure they are not slow

    6. Avatar photo Web Dude says:

      @ Ronski – some pretty impressive speed tests – just wish I could get similar.

      I am currently using Smarty with my iPhone 5S as the router for all my kit and getting on fine with a 100 GB/ month limit, but YouTube and other video is a bit hampered by speed, and some sites assume everything is a mobile (including laptops in different rooms, all going via one router into the iPhone to limit number of connections – I have about 12 devices checking mail etc.)

      At present I sometimes get 4G, sometimes get 3G so am not sure whether the Three Huawei B535 would be suitable (and depending on how you get to the right page for it, you might even be told ‘no 4G coverage’ so not be shown the device let alone be able to order it)…

      I went direct to the page on Three so /could/ order it but given 4G isn’t as reliable as I’d like, am hesitant in case it cannot fall back to use a 3G signal.

      Someone I know has bought a B535 so hopefully I can borrow it for a week or two and try it with my Smarty SIM and see what happens…

  4. Avatar photo Mike says:

    Probably still another 2 years before there is decent coverage.

    1. Avatar photo Bob says:

      There is still not decent 4G coverage so if you think 5G will be decent in 2 years you are very wrong. It’ll be more like 6-7 years for some coverage in most towns. Rural areas will as always be left behind.

    2. Avatar photo Pezza says:

      @Bob Yeap, and in 5 years they’ll be talking 6G tolling it out n 6 years time, and the process just continues it’s loop, deliberately leaving behind the majority of land mass..

    3. Avatar photo ? says:

      but they announced there 4g upgrade and 5g rollout will go until 2023 so might be sooner !!

    4. Avatar photo Name says:

      @Bob: Two years from now if they start investing in infrastructure and radio spectrum and stop crying to Ofcom about everything.

  5. Avatar photo David Coronas says:

    Good to see they’ve finally started rolling this out. However I’ve contacted their customer service team via a number of different platforms and they have been remaining firmly tight-lipped about approximate timescales to roll out to other areas not listed, one of which I, a Three customer of 17 years, live in. We won’t stay patient forever.

    1. Avatar photo jason lee says:

      They never reveal cities due for upgrades if they are not in the scheduled list, i have been with 3 s8nce basically day one, and have seen the 3G, 4G, and now 5G expansions, they never give details of your city isnt listed

    2. Avatar photo MICKY DUNLOP says:

      YES AND IVE JUST LOOKED AT THE LUCKY (66) LIST, AND I CANT BELIVE THAT KINGSTON UPON HULL IS NOT INCLUDED IN IT!!

  6. Avatar photo Michael V says:

    Woohoo! Oh it don’t matter if they had a delay. It shouldn’t be a race with the newest technology. [EE seem to think it is] I’m excited to up grade my phone this year & use their new network!

    1. Avatar photo Gary says:

      Michael, It very much is a race if you’re trying to increase your market share and/or retain your current customers.

    2. Avatar photo Michael V says:

      I get that companies need to keep up with each other, market share, customers! But if there are delays for technical reasons then a company shouldn’t be trashed on. It’s only a few months. I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.

  7. Avatar photo Thomas says:

    I had the 5g router, I live in the EC1 area of London. It was not able to connect to the 5g mast because the 4g signal was getting in the way or maybe too many buildings or something. Sent it back, very disappointing.

    1. Avatar photo Mike says:

      Usually Huawei routers have a setting to set it manually, ie: 5G only, some even let you set which frequency band you want.

  8. Avatar photo Mac says:

    Please wake up. Better speed thst we do not need, in return for what?

    200000 signatories. https://www.5gspaceappeal.org/

    1. Avatar photo GreenBug says:

      Thanks for the list of people to avoid at parties.

    2. Avatar photo David says:

      And I bet none of them use a microwave or mobile in general

    3. Avatar photo Mac says:

      One example: RF radiation in general is classified as possible carcinogenic by WHO. 5G will increase exposure radically. Big, big experiment. The telecom industry are madmen.

    4. Avatar photo Michael V says:

      @Mac. Oh dear….. Some people don’t take the time to educate themselves. 5G will be using not only new frequencies but also existing ones we use for 2G, 3G, 4G. These are probably the people who put baby monitors new to the child’s bed. Bluetooth gives off much more radiation than most things around our house. Wi-fi hubs, microwaves. This article is a load of BS. Excuse me for being blunt. Technology moves on. We had this uproar when 4G LTE came along. Time to pack it in. 5G will bring many benefits.

    5. Avatar photo Random Precision says:

      You’ll have your hands full preparing your rubbish for the arrival of 6G, you’re just a serial whinger.

    6. Avatar photo David says:

      @Mac

      Been working in this field since 1982. I can tell you that you are wrong -and need to educate yourself.

    7. Avatar photo David says:

      @Michael

      remember all the ” don’t use a mobile at a petrol pump” carp?

      Oh such a fire risk! NAH!! the 1 and only reason why GPRS/HSDPA was not really meant to be used in such a place is because it had the potential to reset the pump when in use! I my self did it in testing over 190 times. I know this to be a fact

      More chance of starting a fire by pouring a bucket of water over the end of the nozzle than 2G doing it.

    8. Avatar photo dave says:

      @David

      The idea that using a mobile near a petrol pump is dangerous dates back to 1st generation (analogue) devices and has nothing to do with data transfer of any kind. Not only that, we are now invited to pay via PayPal etc while sat in our cars (not sure about sitting on/stood by a motorbike).

      A few years back when I had bought a new Ford, I found that I couldn’t get the petrol pump nozzle at my local Tesco to fit it. I had to call the RAC, who of course asked me questions about the car, which meant I was then stood next to the petrol pump, while using my phone. (It turned out that only a few of the nozzles on this particular forecourt would fit this car).

      Cue screaming and shouting, including from a guy who was repairing one of the other pumps. He claimed that he had actually seen somebody cause a fire/explosion due to using their phone next to a petrol pump.

      I couldn’t be bothered to point out that research on the matter has shown that a much greater fire risk is caused by having people fill their own cars, thought to be because of potential static discharge as they exit their vehicles. Countries where an attendant serves you while you sit in your car have few incidents of fire (even Greece, where I’ve witnessed attendants smoking while filling cars numerous times!).

      I’ve always thought it odd that petrol stations sell cigarettes and alcohol, for what are hopefully obvious reasons.

    9. Avatar photo Name says:

      @David: Please stop taking heroin.

    10. Avatar photo Peter MacCabe says:

      Same old claptrap and funnily enough from pretty much the same crowd who thinks Brexit should be reversed,cannabis cures cancer and electric cars are all going to be powered by renewable energy sources.

    11. Avatar photo mac says:

      @miceal v. These devices that you mention do of course also give of RF radiation, classified as possible carcinogenic by WHO. Using a baby caller is crazy, and even tech people sleep with WiFi of nowadays. Dave Asperey for instance, tech health guru straight out of Silicon Valley, write about it in his book Head strong. But with 5g the exposure will increase. We are pouring more poison in the glass when we should do the opposite.

    12. Avatar photo Macmac says:

      @michael v. These devices that you mention do of course also give of RF radiation, classified as possible carcinogenic by WHO. Using a baby caller is crazy, and even tech people sleep witho WiFi OFF nowadays. Dave Asperey for instance, tech health guru straight out of Silicon Valley, write about it in his book Head strong. But with 5g the exposure will increase, and with all the cell towers every second to tenth house, exposure will be inescapeable. We are pouring more poison in the glass when we should do the opposite.

    13. Avatar photo Chris says:

      The American Cancer Society:

      People can be exposed to RF radiation from both natural and man-made sources.

      Natural sources include:

      Outer space and the sun
      The sky – including lightning strikes
      The earth itself – most radiation from the earth is infrared, but a tiny fraction is RF

      Also, that website cites a paper from 1973.

    14. Avatar photo Caynb says:

      Good information people dont see the dangers of 5g over time thanks for posting this i keep telling people this and i get them saying im crazy ..

    15. Avatar photo claire says:

      nice work. its a shame that more people cant be more open minded. i mean if they absolutely have to have nanosecond downnload times then good for them but quite a selfish view of the world when some of these frequencies have absolutely been proven to damage so much in our natural world. for example bees, birds, insects etc… as albert einstein wrote… without bees, within 4 years our world would cease to exist. You 5g wifi pushers need to expand your conciousnous and look at the bigger picture, ie outside of yourselves and your selfish need for faster download times. all frequencies can be used for good or harm but sadly the frequecies used in 5g are not doing good to our natural world. some of the frequencies are the same size as insects which basically means they are being microwaved. also we all know us humans love a good dolphin show…. well sea creatures including squid and giant squid only use electromagnetic fields for direction and essentially life so Instead of belittling people because of their opinions maybe just research a bit more independantly first and think about the bigger picture … the planet and everything on it.

  9. Avatar photo Ross says:

    Not one planned for northern Ireland, were just an after thought yet again

    1. Avatar photo Mac says:

      Ireland may be wiser.

    2. Avatar photo David says:

      Well sorry but Ireland is in the EU and the UK is not – so go and whinge to them about it.

      Not our problem anymore. The 1 years is just to sort out your border etc

  10. Avatar photo Vijay says:

    Not sure if Manchester means Greater Manchester or just part of city centre. I live Trafford way (Sale) and will be ecstatic if coverage extends across all regions of Greater Manchester.

    1. Avatar photo Gareth says:

      Going off the other networks, it will just be central Manchester. Outer towns as usual are just an after thought.

  11. Avatar photo NoonDawg says:

    Wow. No 5g in Scotland’s capital and 2nd largest city.

    1. Avatar photo David says:

      Well when you get your independence it will be the second biggest in Scotland and you can sort of pay for your own telecoms – how about that? No more 200 Million from the UK goverment every 6 months.

    2. Avatar photo dave says:

      @David:

      Considering this discussion is about a COMMERCIAL rollout, what on earth has Scottish independence got to do with anything?

      Also, why is it that a lot of the same people who voted for Brexit get angry when the idea of Scottish independence comes up?

    3. Avatar photo Facts says:

      I’m pretty sure Birmingham is the second largest city in the UK?

  12. Avatar photo leslie nicholson says:

    I am using 3g to write this on my 3 network
    4g would be nice 5g probably never
    Why don’t they fix the existing problems first

    1. Avatar photo Mike says:

      Try using 4G Switcher app if you’re on Android.

    2. Avatar photo Mike says:

      4g does not necessarily translate to faster speed.
      From my experience, three 4g has been erratic bordering on useless.
      Speeds jump around from 0.1mbps one hour to maybe 7mbps the next. Generally it tends to hover around 1 to 3 mbps.

    3. Avatar photo Mike says:

      Perhaps try other operators then.

  13. Avatar photo MARK HOLDEN says:

    Bolton was originally mooted as getting 5g – it’s not on the list. What happened??

  14. Avatar photo Michael V says:

    I’ve got home Broadband from Three in my village. Speeds are averaging 40 to 80 Mbps down & setting 18 Up. It’s great so no rush for 5G-NR at home. I would like a 5G phone for when around Cardiff centre & work. Seeing a little congestion lately.

    1. Avatar photo David says:

      I am in Rogerstone – Cardiff is terrible mate Even on EE I struggled to get above 500mbps – this might seem trivial but 4G packs in 450mbps at home – so not worth the upgrade right now ( I had a test phone for 2 weeks from EE for a review on YT)

  15. Avatar photo jd21 says:

    No Three Broadband in my London postcode but curious if my mast will have 3 5G and possible speeds, will stick my 3 sim in my 5G router and see. Been impressed with Voda 4G home broadband but no 5G just yet on my mast, only on the one a little further away.

  16. Avatar photo João Paulo Santos Lobo says:

    It’s so sad, it was needed me and a couple more to sue them so they would actually move. I fell bad for the other people that just “suck it up” instead of knowing their own rights, people in UK are so damn soft…

    Now, from 30,40 mbs download staying still on my note 10+5g without 5g, I have at least 80mbs download on 4g on my mi mix 3, and beautiful 250mbs to 400mbs 5g around my house and work (on Vodafone ofc, three would never had signal, not to mention speed)

    1. Avatar photo David says:

      But my home 1Gbps both ways still kicks your ass.

      Sorry about that.

  17. Avatar photo Whyohwhydelilah says:

    oh lorddyyy

    i just cancelled three because I was getting <1mbit in Central London and average of ~ 4-5mbit at home.
    today I find out my tiny town is in the list for 5G on three (none of the other networks have any plans for it yet)
    and I have a 5G phone too 🙁

    dammmmit. Mind you it could still be slow on 5G too I guess.

    1. Avatar photo Mike says:

      So far speeds on Three 5G are over 200Mbps, your decision to leave was unwise.

    2. Avatar photo Stanley Murungu-Danya says:

      I am an engineer for Huawei, right now we are refreshing the whole 3 mobile network, we have just finished the first 2000 sites of just above 14000. When we upgrade a site we offer more spectrum and speed than EE. Within 3 years 3 mobile will be on par if not better than other providers.

    3. Avatar photo Mike says:

      @Stanley Murungu-Danya

      Can you say what LTE category is being rolled out?

    4. Avatar photo dave says:

      That is unlikely. Somebody who really works for Huawei on the Three network would be bound by NDA’s I’m sure.

  18. Avatar photo Pezza says:

    I’m surprised at the number of people on here who use cellular networks for home broadband.
    In a lot of target 5G places I suspect it’ll be good to use 5G at home as it will supersede the timeframe to get fibre to the home connections.

    Funnily enough I’ve been testing O2’s signal on Tesco Mobile over the last week and it’s far better then 3’s signal on Smarty in my area, may have to switch but will trial it a bit more. But it’s doing noticeably better in these storms..

    1. Avatar photo Michael V says:

      Oh I love my home Broadband. LTE is very much capable. I didn’t want a home ISP & be forced to pay for a home line.
      My hub is the Huawei AI cube & performance is great. Especially on the 5GHz band. With 5G incoming, they’re will be many more opting for cellular home Broadband.
      £20 with 6 months half price!

    2. Avatar photo David says:

      Well as it’s not a 5G device – you will need to replace it anyway

    3. Avatar photo Mike says:

      With a decent antenna setup on the roof you can usually beat FTTC speeds quite easily, the upload is also usually very good.

    4. Avatar photo Michael V says:

      @david. I have no plans to replace my home 4G with 5G. Just my phone I might upgrade letter this year.

  19. Avatar photo Joanne Howle says:

    This is disgusting #stop5g do you understand the dangers of the radiation I will be boycotting 3 and I have been a loyal customer for over 10 yrs

    1. Avatar photo dave says:

      You’ll be boycotting all the networks then I assume?

    2. Avatar photo Mike says:

      Seems like the 4G radiation has fried your brain already, not like 5G will be much worse for you 🙂

    3. Avatar photo blueacid says:

      Erm, Three are the last of the major networks to roll out 5G. So, by boycotting them you’ll be moving to whom exactly?

      #keep5g

    4. Avatar photo Michael V says:

      @Joanne…. 5G is currently using & will be using similar frequencies the 4G 3G 2G networks use. Guessing U don’t have a microwave, wi-fi hub, in your home. one of the Wi-fi hubs bands use 5GHZ, that’s higher band then what 5G is using right now in UK. Please tell me what exactly are U against? This is a positive article about Three launching a new network. Tin foil hats need not comment.

    5. Avatar photo Mac says:

      I support you Joanne. These people in here need to be educated.They can choose to smoke or take drugs, but do not pollute us others with this bloody poison.

    6. Avatar photo Mac says:

      I suuport you Joanne. These people in here need to be educated. They can smoke or take drugs, but they should be vice enough to not support subtances that make direct harm to others. Keep that bloody poison away.

    7. Avatar photo dave says:

      @Mac

      The harms of tobacco and alcohol are proven. If for example you were to focus your efforts on reducing the harm caused by these substances (especially alcohol) then I’m sure you would get a lot more support.

      The dangers of 5G are purely theoretical and blown out of proportion by people who lack the real knowledge and thinking skills required.

    8. Avatar photo Maca says:

      @dave I agree totally agree. I definitely would get more support advocating for reduced alcohol consumption or smoking. But these fights are already fought, and with smoking the victory did not come without struggle, due to ignorance and a powerful industry.

  20. Avatar photo Steve says:

    “includes big chunks of London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham”

    How do you know it is big chunks? I would love to see 5G coverage map for Glasgow if this is available

  21. Avatar photo Radley says:

    I can’t even get a H+ on Three where I live

  22. Avatar photo Steve says:

    4g has not worked since 3 Fridays ago was working fine till they started work is rubish now but they are quick enough to take your money every month

  23. Avatar photo Gary standen says:

    What about Milton Keynes

    1. Avatar photo Gavin says:

      I noticed Milton Keynes has disappeared from the 5G lunch list. I’m shore it was on there about 6 months ago.

  24. Avatar photo Keith Alston says:

    Three have launched in Redcar (a very small town) yet have ignored Stockton and Middlesbrough which are both 10 times the size of Redcar. I’ve been a customer of Three for about 10 years but I guarantee that when my contract expires next year I will not be signing back up and will cancel all my contracts with you.. This is an insult to Teessiders in my eyes!

    1. Avatar photo Adam says:

      Middlesbrough was originally on their list now its gone….shame on them! I was waiting out to re-new my current contract with SKY as I wanted 5G broadband. Oh well maybe when 6G hits!…

  25. Avatar photo Keith Alston says:

    PS..I forgot to add to my last comment that your AI Cube sucks too. It drops the signal as often as it connects. Many times I am lucky if I can scrape 12mbs

    1. Avatar photo Mike says:

      Have you tried different locations in house?

    2. Avatar photo Mike says:

      Have you tried different locations around the house?

  26. Avatar photo David Fraser says:

    Currently with 3 on 4g.Does anybody know if 5g in Glasgow will only be for mobile devices or if there is a router for the house that will provide 5g broadband?

    1. Avatar photo Mike says:

      Seems the only standalone 5G router available is the Huawei CPE router (~£400 on Amazon), due to the mixed reviews and huge price premium I’d probably use a 5G phone tethered to an access point via USB/wireless bridge until 5G router prices come down.

  27. Avatar photo Macmac says:

    @michael v. These devices that you mention do of course also give of RF radiation, classified as possible carcinogenic by WHO. Using a baby caller is crazy, and even tech people sleep witho WiFi OFF nowadays. Dave Asperey for instance, tech health guru straight out of Silicon Valley, write about it in his book Head strong. But with 5g the exposure will increase, and with all the cell towers every second to tenth house, exposure will be inescapeable. We are pouring more poison in the glass when we should do the opposite.

    1. Avatar photo Michael V says:

      I used to work for an internet provider. Wi-fi hubs are designed to stay on not switched off on a regular basis, this will only cause issues at some point. Yes you are right that more cells need to be closer together, but you’re missing the fact that will only be needed when the mmWave band gets deployed after the auction. Right now the Operators have the 3.4 to 3.9GHz bands available. [Lower than our home WiFi 5ghz band] Even then mmWave will be deployed in the most densely populated areas like Cardiff, London, for e.g. & surrounding areas. yes you’ll see the mmWave cells but all within the allowed power levels. The technology can bring so many benefits. I truly believe we need this 5G-NR.

    2. Avatar photo Maca says:

      @Micehael V. Yes, of course they are “within the allowed power levels”. The Telecom industry do of not violate the law in such obvious ways as by not following current regulations. The problem is that the ICNIRP guidelines which we rely on only protect against the biologic effect of heating. Even the IEEE(Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers) now give modest warnings. The telecom industry should listen. Just 11 days ago they featured a very critical comment by one of their own members on their own article puvlished three months ago. Their own article initially went fair in saying 5G is safe, with only some caution:

      “The majority of the scientific community does not think there’s an issue,” Waterhouse says. “However, it would be unscientific to flat out say there are no reasons to worry.”

      In the long comment featured by IEEE 11 days ago Barnes and Greenebaum point to research and state that there are other biologic effects:

      “(…)the fields are nonionizing, meaning that single photons do not carry enough energy to tear an electron from a molecule or atom. But in various labs, investigators are reproducibly showing that static- and time-varying magnetic fields at radio frequencies, as well as at lower frequencies, can modify biological systems by altering fundamental properties, such as membrane potentials, intercellular pH, and concentrations of Ca++ ions and molecules such nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide or radicals such as
      superoxide. Hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, O2-•, and Ca++ play an important role in biological communications, activating processes such as cell growth.”

      I say: Fiber 4TW. Fiber is as fast, but safe. The only downside is that it is more expensive for the industry and it will leave IoT on the shelf for madman ideas that we escaped in the last mintute (where it belongs).

    3. Avatar photo dave says:

      Last part of the article which you are attempting to use to support your arguments says:

      “ We should continue to look at the question of EMR health effects, but the vast majority of evidence says there’s no reason to pause deployments”

    4. Avatar photo Maca says:

      @dave. You missed the point: The article from IEEE is three months old. But 11 days ago IEEE featured a very critical comment (see first comment below in the Disqus). In other words they are stating – hey ok, we might have missed some arguments.

  28. Avatar photo Jon says:

    I suffered for years with crap fibre to the cabinet broadband. Paying exactly the same amount each month as those living closer to the cabinet getting top speeds. It’s very unfair but not a thing that can be done. I’ve been with 3 using a standard pay monthly sim £20 a month in a Huawei B525 router with an external aerial. Even though I’m a fair way from the mast I get a good 80Mbs down and 30Mbs up off peak and 50Mbs down and the same at peak times. It’s bloody amazing! Plus if I move house I just pack up my kit and move. No having to wait weeks and making endless calls for an engineer to activate a phone line from the 60’s. I plug my router in and am back online in seconds.

    1. Avatar photo Danny says:

      For some people that’s great however it’s no good for some people especially people who play video games online as ping is more important that speeds and mobile broadband just doesn’t cut it I’m afraid.

  29. Avatar photo Ziggy says:

    Great News!!!

    Does that mean 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G reception will be available to my mobile telephone. Most of the time I struggle to get voice reception.

  30. Avatar photo Emily says:

    Fantastic, we’ll wait for the disease rates to go up in these areas, I.e cancer and mental disorders just to name a couple. Still no one will probably do anything to stop it as the fat cats will be lining there pockets. What world are these people creating for our children, it’s so sad. 3g was enough and 4g so why push for higher radiation levels, it’s just craziness and greed.

    1. Avatar photo Danny says:

      Go put on your tin foil hat and go read a book detailing actual research and not some silly online expert that is spreading BS! 5g is not harmful at all! The sun gives off more harmful radiation.

    2. Avatar photo Maca says:

      @Danny. Always with the tin foil hat argument. What about getting up to date yourself and provide some real arguments supporting your 90s attitudes. The UV radiation of the sun is strong,yes, and able to break molecular bonds. But biology is more than physics. There are other biologic effects from radiation with less energy, than that which ionize and break bonds,which in the long term can cause ill health.

    3. Avatar photo dave says:

      [peer reviewed and well designed double blind study needed]

      Or to put it another way – there’s a mysterious being that lives in the sky which will solve all of your problems as long as you devote your life to him.

      See the problem?

    4. Avatar photo Maca says:

      @dave. Do you see the contradiction in your own arguments? Above you first site this:

      “we should continue to look at the question of EMR health effects, but the vast majority of evidence says there’s no reason to pause deployments”.

      Then you site this:

      “[peer reviewed and well designed double blind study needed]”

      In others words, first you are trying to state that there is so much research that we can be safe. Then you state that more research is needed. It is you that is not thinking straigth, but just grasping for arguments.

      Having that said, it is your last argument that is correct. More research is needed. It is ludacris to expose the entire world population in a “medical” expirement so big that there is nothing we can compare it with in human history when we already know much about biologic effects. Also the largest study of all time done up to data, which lasted 10 years and with a cost of USD 30 million conluded in 2018 that there was clear evidence of genotexicity and cancr in rats. The study is sited here: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/we-have-no-reason-to-believe-5g-is-safe/

  31. Avatar photo MR MATTHEW MAYATT says:

    Looking forward to Three 5g home broadband in Maidstone end of feb, means I can finally dump the expensive virgin fibre broadband

  32. Avatar photo rikki says:

    I’d just like to get 3g where i live wish I’d not gone with 3 stuck till end of contract

  33. Avatar photo johnf says:

    Can they really do 5G when their 4G is around 1-2 mbps in a big city centre? I suspect it will end up being about the speed of the other networks’ 4G. Perhaps at first it will be fast, when hardly anyone has a 5G phone.

    1. Avatar photo Mike says:

      Three never bothered upgrading 4G in most places, so it hasn’t aged well.

      5G should bring the speeds up to slightly more than the latest 4G advances.

    2. Avatar photo ? says:

      looks like there adding 55mhz 4g spectrum to each 5g site so its coming

    3. Avatar photo ? says:

      50mhz **

    4. Avatar photo Michael V says:

      Morning JohnF. Three don’t have a big amount of spectrum for LTE. Much less than EE & Vodafone. However, with 5G-NR spectrum they have much more than the other three Operators. They could really take on EE this time. So I think these could be exciting times for them with the ability to have a really fast new network.

      They have been re-farming part of the 3G frequency band & we’re now seeing more 4G, faster & better coverage, but they have mostly done this in cities.

      Hope that helps answer your question.

    5. Avatar photo johnf says:

      @Michael V

      Well I’ve just tested and getting a pathetic 3 Mbps down on Three 4G. Very poor in 2020. The 1p sim is in the post!

      Oh and if I contrast to my “home” broadband which is provided by a Vodafone sim, thats testing at 37 Mbps.

  34. Avatar photo Emma H says:

    We don’t want this 5G weaponized kill grid installed across the whole country. There will be massive increases in cancer rates, brain tumours, mental illnesses, depression, alzheimers, autism etc. It’s not about faster download speeds, it’s about population control.

    1. Avatar photo Johnf says:

      Who is this we? I want it for faster downloads and population control is just a bonus.

    2. Avatar photo dave says:

      I love it when I hear the ‘population control’ argument. How exactly do you think it’s going to work?

      The government is reliant on people being alive for their tax revenue

      Sick people would cost the NHS an absolute fortune

      If they could use it just against those who are a drain on society it would serve a purpose but how exactly do you propose they would target it?

      Yet another braindead numbskull parroting the words of other braindead numbskulls.

    3. Avatar photo Michael V says:

      @Emma.
      Ha. Hilarious!

  35. Avatar photo Simon O'ROURKE says:

    Was this announcement some sort of joke. Yes they launched in 66 cities and town which like everyone thought was deeply impressive actually about time.

    What Three failed to say was that it was going launch in only a few streets in those towns and cities so the areas that desperately need 5g like busy transport hubs and Central Lindon pretty much no coverage but a few streets in camden are covered lol. Likewise in Kent a few streets in barnhurst of all places not even all of Barnhurst even though its a tiny town.

    This has to be a joke and no apology from Three for completely misleading customers.

  36. Avatar photo Rob says:

    Any news on when this is happening? The article said before the end of Feb but still no launch.

  37. Avatar photo Edna Bagg says:

    Pity Three only do 4G as a part-time service now. Major outages, no warning, service status page on their site has been withdrawn. Are they going bankrupt or something?

Comments are closed

Cheap BIG ISPs for 100Mbps+
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Virgin Media UK ISP Logo
Virgin Media £24.00
132Mbps
Gift: None
Plusnet UK ISP Logo
Plusnet £27.99
145Mbps
Gift: None
Zen Internet UK ISP Logo
Zen Internet £28.00 - 35.00
100Mbps
Gift: None
Sky Broadband UK ISP Logo
100Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
Cheapest ISPs for 100Mbps+
Gigaclear UK ISP Logo
Gigaclear £15.00
150Mbps
Gift: None
YouFibre UK ISP Logo
YouFibre £19.99
150Mbps
Gift: None
Community Fibre UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
BeFibre UK ISP Logo
BeFibre £21.00
150Mbps
Gift: £25 Love2Shop Card
Hey! Broadband UK ISP Logo
150Mbps
Gift: None
Large Availability | View All
The Top 15 Category Tags
  1. FTTP (5443)
  2. BT (3497)
  3. Politics (2513)
  4. Openreach (2285)
  5. Business (2242)
  6. Building Digital UK (2226)
  7. FTTC (2040)
  8. Mobile Broadband (1954)
  9. Statistics (1770)
  10. 4G (1648)
  11. Virgin Media (1603)
  12. Ofcom Regulation (1446)
  13. Wireless Internet (1384)
  14. Fibre Optic (1384)
  15. FTTH (1380)
Promotion
Sponsored

Copyright © 1999 to Present - ISPreview.co.uk - All Rights Reserved - Terms , Privacy and Cookie Policy , Links , Website Rules , Contact
Mastodon