O2 and Vodafone network agreement to bring a significant 5G advantage

O2 has announced the release date for when and where its 5G network will be made available to the UK public. We have known for some time when O2 was planning to roll out its 5G network, but this is the first we have heard of an exact month, as well as where the network will be first made available.

Most other major telecoms networks have already launched their 5G networks, but O2 is saving the best till last.

Our Business Mobile team are waiting to help your business harness the power of 5G.

So, where will O2 5G be available?

O2's 5G will first be launched in the 4 capital cities of the UK - London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast - also known as the "four corners of the UK". However, 2 other cities have managed to make the cut for the initial roll out of O2 5G - Leeds and Slough - to make sure they can cover the majority of the UK first time round, but also because O2 is based in Slough.

After the first launch, O2 plans to spread its 5G network to around 20 other cities - including Bristol, Norwich and Reading - by the end of 2019 and then 50 more cities - including Milton Keynes, Manchester and Brighton - by the Summer of 2020.

O2 has said that the areas within the cities listed above will be places such as shopping centres, transport hubs, music venues, stadiums etc. So, don't be expecting 5G in your home anytime soon, it is expected for residential 5G connectivity to take years before it is fully established.

What devices will support O2 5G?

The day after Samsung are launching the new Samsung Galaxy S1 (August 8), O2 plans to start selling the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which means we could expect a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 5G too! Later in August, O2 also plans to start selling the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G.

It was originally planned that the Huawei Mate 20 X would be made available on O2's 5G network too, however, since the ban created some uncertainty in Huawei's future, it seems as though we shouldn't get too excited about this being a possibility anymore.

O2 increases it locations for O2 5G

Ultimately, we have a lot to look forward to regarding O2 5G, with a lot more yet to be revealed and thanks to the new confirmed partnership between O2 and Vodafone, there will a fantastic number of 5G-connected cities.

Both CEOs of O2 and Vodafone recently announced this newly formed partnership, which aims to speed up the roll out of 5G across the UK and said the following:

Mark Evans, CEO, Telefonica UK, said:

"Today is an important step in demonstrating our commitment to invest for the future, with mobile connectivity one of the UK's most powerful opportunities to strengthen the economy and improve the lives of British people. This agreement will enable us to roll-out 5G faster and more efficiently, benefiting customers while delivering value for our business. It also importantly allows us to utilise the spectrum we acquired in the last auction very effectively."

Nick Jeffery, CEO, Vodafone UK, said:

"We're driving, our 5G roll-out forward with this agreement, and taking our customers, our business and the whole of the UK with us. Greater autonomy in major cities will allow us to accelerate deployment, and together with active network sharing, ensures that our customers will get super-fast 5G in even more places more quickly, using fewer masts. We can boost capacity where our customers need it most so they can take full advantage of our new unlimited plans. And it demonstrates our commitment to further invest in our multi-billion pount network in the years to come, helping the UK become a digital pioneer."