BT has commercial launched its 5G mobile service for consumers and business customers in more than 20 cities and large towns across the U.K.
The services, dubbed BT Plus and BT Business, were already available in cities including London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast, Coventry, Leicester and Bristol.
BT said it aims to expand its 5G offering to an additional 25 towns and cities by the end of this year. BT’s 5G service can be accessed in some of London’s busiest train stations, including Waterloo, Liverpool Street and Charing Cross, and some of the UK’s busiest places, including London’s Piccadilly Circus, Manchester’s Albert Square and Birmingham’s Brindley Place.
BT Plus customers can choose from a 12 GB, 30 GB, 60 GB or 200 GB 5G handset plan, starting from £45 ($57) per month. The telco said that the 5G smartphones that will be initially available for customers include Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, OPPO Reno 5G and the Huawei Mate 20 X.
BT Business customers can choose from a variety of 6 GB, 30 GB, or 60 GB 5G mobile plans.
“Our 5G service provides customers with a faster and more reliable connection in high demand, crowded areas across the UK at peak times,” said Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer Division, in a statement. “When combined with the best fiber, the UK’s fastest 4G network and biggest wi-fi network, BT is helping consumers and businesses stay connected wherever they are and whatever they need to do.”
The network will utilize existing infrastructure already deployed by mobile operator EE, which is part of the BT Group. EE officially launched commercial 5G services in a number of U.K. cities at the end of May.
The initial cities where EE had launched 5G services are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester.
EE previously announced plans to launch 5G across the busiest parts of Bristol, Coventry, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield during the rest of the year. In 2020, Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cambridge, Dundee, Exeter, Ipswich, Norwich, Plymouth and York will receive 5G coverage, EE said.
In July, mobile operator O2, owned by Spanish telecommunications group Telefonica, announced plans to launch 5G in the country during October.The telco said it aims to cover a total of 20 town and cities with 5G technology this year and a total of 50 by mid-2020. For the rollout of 5G technology, the carrier said it will prioritize transport hubs, key business areas and entertainment and sports venues, including The O2 and Twickenham Stadium.5G network for coverage will initially switch on across key hubs in areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Slough and Leeds.
By the end of the year, O2’s service will be available in Belfast, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Eton, Guildford, Leeds, Leicester, Lisburn, London, Norwich, Nottingham, Reading, Slough, Stoke, and Windsor, the company said.
In July, Vodafone also launched 5G services in Birkenhead, Bolton, Gatwick, Lancaster, Newbury, Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool and London.
