Three expands 5G coverage and boosts 4G speeds

(Image credit: Three)

Three has now upgraded 1,250 sites to 5G and has rolled out new spectrum to boost its 4G network.

Sites in Brentwood, Chorley and Gateshead are among those to be added to the operator’s 5G footprint, which has grown from 1,000 at the end of 2020. Meanwhile, 1.6 million households can now access its Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) home broadband service.

Three launched its 5G service early last year and is staging a gradual deployment that has now reached parts of 193 towns.

Three 5G

4G customers with modern devices are also set to benefit from faster download speeds. Capacity at 1,500 sites has been more than doubled through the addition of 20MHz worth of 1,400MHz spectrum, while 4G and 5G subscribers will both benefit from upgraded backhaul at 3,200 sites.

The upgrades are part of the company’s its ongoing £2 billion network investment programme, which also includes the construction of 74 new sites in remote areas as part of the Shared Rural Network programme.

“We have made solid progress at the start of 2021 and are meeting our goal to deliver better connectivity, every day, for every customer,” said Three COO Susan Buttsworth. “Our 5G roll out has made excellent progress with 1250 sites across 193 towns and cities and we’ve made strong improvements to boost the 4G experience for our customers, which has never been more vital with virtual working and home schooling.”

Three said that the average data consumption per customer has increased by more than half over the past year and now stands at 17GB.

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.