O2 Extend 5G Standalone Mobile Broadband Network to 85 Percent of UK
Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media) has announced that they’ve switched-on their next-generation 5G Standalone (5GSA / 5G+) mobile broadband network in 47 large towns and cities, 79 smaller towns and 597 rural villages across West Midlands (England). The development also means that their 5G+ network now covers more than 85% of the UK’s population.
The technology offers a full 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 some older and slower 4G infrastructure.
O2’s 5GSA rollout – available to customers with compatible devices “at no extra cost” – first began in February 2024 (here) and aims to reach “at least 90% outdoor coverage” in every location they reach. The operator’s rollout can now also reach up to 5 million residents across five counties including Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and Worcestershire.
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The West Midlands part of their 5G+ rollout brings enhanced connectivity to residents, businesses and visitors alike across major UK urban centres including Birmingham and Coventry, through to historic towns like Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick, as well as rural communities spread across the region.
Professor Robert Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering at O2, said:
“From the biggest cities to regional towns and rural communities, this upgrade will help people in Birmingham, Coventry and across the Black Country to stay connected wherever they live, work or travel.
Combined with investment as part of our Mobile Transformation Plan, O2 is upgrading connectivity across the country and ensuring customers get a faster, more reliable mobile experience.”
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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How’s this true when there’s 3 locations in wales that support it
Broadband deals on the list for the best possible service please
Herefordshire? I hope they do a better job than their normal network going by people who is on it.
Where in Herefordshire? it it is pretty large.
I don’t think there is any unless you’re going to Wales on the A40
But it says in the article,
The operator’s rollout can now also reach up to 5 million residents across five counties including Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and Worcestershire.
Herefordshire is not in Wales.
What ae the planes and timescales to bring this across to the Welsh borders and indeed the whole of Wales. We pay the same tariffs. We should receive the same aervices
Is there a detailed list of o2 5GSA enabled locations or way to view o2 5GSA on a coverage map?
https://www.o2.co.uk/coveragechecker where you can check 2G through to 5G+ and Sat coverage, for any location selected on the map.
The Sat service will only work on a limited number of smartphones and also requires purchasing a Sat Bolt on for an additional £3 a month.
To see where the local masts are for a location, that’s been selected on the map, just click on Show Masts, under the map.
i’ve recently rejoined O2 after being away for 4 years on three and the 5G feels slower now then 4G did back then! can they not harness VM fibre network to improve the speeds in some of the areas! the highest i have seen the 5G go in my area is about 100Mb and I’m sure when O2 launched 4G back in 2013 it was 100Mb then!
I believe that’s their intention – I’m sure it was mentioned on another article
Download speeds are ok much of the time.
Upload speeds are impossible. e.g. 0.2 mb.
Interesting that the article headline here quotes “85% of the UK” which implies geographical coverage.
Whereas the claim is 85% of population, a different metric.
My reaction to 5g was ‘meh’, but this looks more promising.
When will it start being available to the likes of Sky Mobile, Tesco etc?
How do I know my phone (iPhone 15) is using 5G+?
I get the 5G indication, but does this change when Im connected to 5G SA?
I get coverage here according to the coverage checker, but I have had 5G for some time now.