Three UK has launched its 5G service today, available in London as a home broadband service. The company says that its single 5G plan will shake up the broadband market with customers able to cancel their landline and instantly access fibre-like, ultrafast speeds compared to what the average UK customer currently obtains using traditional, fixed broadband services.
The 5G Broadband tariff costs £35 per month, with unlimited data on a 12 month contract. A ‘plug and play’ hub is included which means there’s no expensive installation costs or long waits for an engineer to visit. Same day delivery is available for £20, with next day delivery free.
Due to the fact that Three has more than twice as much 5G spectrum as its closest competitor, the company is claiming that it will be the fastest in the UK, delivering significantly faster speeds for its customers.
Three holds spectrum in the 140MHz block, including access to a 100MHz contiguous black that can potential provide faster 5G speeds. Other operators hold 40MHz and 50MHz blocks – including the already-launched EE network and Vodafone’s.
The company also boasts that it is the only operator that can offer a “true” 5G experience, as set out by the global standards body on 5G technology, the ITU. This requires 80-100 MHz of contiguous spectrum in prime 5G mid-bands (eg 3.5 GHz).
Dave Dyson, CEO at Three, said:
“Three’s 5G is going to revolutionise the home broadband experience.
“No more paying for landline rental, no more waiting for engineers, and even a same day delivery option. It really is the straightforward plug and play broadband that customers have been waiting for.
“We’ve taken a simple approach with one single truly unlimited data plan to give customers the opportunity to fully explore 5G and all its exciting possibilities. The ease and immediacy of it all means home broadband using 5G is going to be key to the future of the connected home.”
The company plans to roll out both mobile and home broadband offerings in 25 towns and cities across the UK “before the end of the year”.
The locations to be switched-on in the first batch are Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Reading, Rotherham, Sheffield, Slough, Sunderland and Wolverhampton.
As well as spectrum, Three has been investing in high-capacity smart antennas, in order meet the anticipated future demand for data.
