Three initially launched 5G services in the UK in August 2019, with the initial offering of a high-speed 5G broadband service in parts of London
Three UK has activated its 5G offering in 86 new locations, including tourist hotspots such as Dartmouth, Milford on Sea, Aberystwyth, Holywood and Irvine.
The operator says that its 5G is currently available across 3,200 sites in more than 400 locations.
Three previously announced that it would turn off its 3G network by the end of 2024 in a move that will allow the company to focus investments and spectrum resources on further improving 4G services, while rolling out 5G.
Three also noted that it has been recognized as the U.K.’s fastest 5G network by Ookla. The recently published data for the first half of 2022 reveals that Three delivered the fastest median 5G download speed compared to rival operators in the U.K. Three UK achieved median download speeds of 292.57 Mbps and median upload speeds of 13.44 Mbps, with a Speed Score of 248.16, according to the Ookla report.
Currently, Three says it covers nearly all of the U.K. population with its 3G and 4G networks. Overall, the carrier says it handles 28% of mobile data traffic in the country.
In its recent Mobile Britain 2022 report, which provides a range of consumer usage statistics, the telco said that the number of 5G devices accessing its network quadrupled during 2021 to 2.2 million.
Three initially launched 5G services in the U.K. in August 2019, with the initial offering of a high-speed 5G broadband service in parts of London.
Some of the cities currently covered by Three U.K.’s 5G network include Aberdeen, , Bath, Bedford, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Dundee, Glasgow, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Luton, Manchester, Nottingham, Plymouth, Reading, Swansea, York and Wigan.
Three, part of the CK Hutchison Holdings, currently has over 9.75 million subscribers in the U.K.
In 2019, U.K. telcos obtained spectrum for the provision of 5G services. Vodafone won 50 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.4GHz band after paying £378 million (currently $453 million). EE won 40 megahertz for which it paid £303 million. Three secured 20 megahertz of 3.4 GHz spectrum at a cost of £151.3 million, while Telefónica-owned O2 picked up 40 megahertz for £318m.
These frequencies enabled the operators to launch 5G services in 2019, making the U.K. one of the most developed markets in Europe in terms of 5G deployments.
In March 2021, the U.K. completed its latest 5G spectrum auction, raising a total of £1.35 billion.
In this auction, EE secured 2×10 megahertz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £280 million; 20 megahertz of supplementary downlink spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £4 million; and 40 megahertz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band at a cost of £168 million. Hutchison 3G UK committed to pay £280 million for 2×10 megahertz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band.
