EE expands 5G to transport hubs and new cities

(Image credit: EE)

EE has switched on 5G at a number of major UK transport hubs and commuter towns as it looks to improve coverage for customers on their way to work.

The BT-owned operator launched 5G in the busiest parts of London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester back in May and plans to reach another ten major cities by the end of the year.

That ambition will be one step closer to being achieved next week, when EE 5G goes live in Bristol, Leicester and Coventry.

EE 5G Expansion

However passengers travelling from major London stations, such as Waterloo, Liverpool Street and Kings Cross will have access to the network, while EE has started expanding coverage to neighbouring towns.

Parts of Solihull, Dudley, Sutton Coldfield, West Bromwich, and Lichfield in the West Midlands have been switched on, as have areas of Salford, Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Rochdale and Milnrow. Around London, 5G EE is available in Kingston, Grays, Romford, Chatham and Gillingham.

EE is therefore using the opportunity to boast that its 5G network is available in more places than any other operator.

“Switching on 5G in more busy places will help to keep our customers connected to the things that matter to them the most,” said BT Consumer CEO Marc Allera. “Our engineers are building new 5G sites every day, and increasing capacity on 4G sites – all part of our ambition to keep all of our customers connected 100 percent of the time.”

Rival Vodafone switched its 5G network on in July with the intention of reaching locations in 19 towns and cities before the end of the year. Three offers 5G-powered home broadband services in the capital, while O2 plans to go live in the UK’s four capital cities later in 2019.

Steve McCaskill is TechRadar Pro's resident mobile industry expert, covering all aspects of the UK and global news, from operators to service providers and everything in between. He is a former editor of Silicon UK and journalist with over a decade's experience in the technology industry, writing about technology, in particular, telecoms, mobile and sports tech, sports, video games and media.