5g.co.uk

Launched in August 2014, 5G.co.uk is one of four websites managed by our company. This site focuses on empowering consumers with knowledge about mobile networks in the UK. It helps users discover the best mobile deals and keeps them informed about the latest developments in the industry, especially regarding 5G technology.

National

English

Online/Digital

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#523941

United Kingdom

#33560

Computers Electronics and Technology/Telecommunications

#121

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Your hunch was right: MVNOs are slower than the big networks

2 weeks ago | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson

MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) are typically cheaper than MNOs (mobile network operators) like Three, EE, Vodafone, and O2. These ‘virtual’ operators – which include the likes of iD Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Lebara, and many more – don’t have their own masts, so they rent access to masts and spectrum from the big four networks above.
Vodafone Red vs Vodafone Basics plans: how do they compare?

2 weeks ago | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson

Like most major networks, Vodafone has various different plan types, with two of the most prominent being Vodafone Red and Vodafone Basics. You can probably already guess from the names that Vodafone Basics is a more basic – and therefore affordable – option, but what exactly do you get with a Basics plan? And how do they compare with Vodafone Red plans? We’ve answered all that and more below, so before picking your Vodafone plan, read on for a full breakdown.
London’s 5G performance is worse than other UK cities

3 weeks ago | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson

You might expect London to lead the way when it comes to 5G performance in the UK, but surprisingly the opposite seems to be the case. According to research from Ookla, median 5G download speeds in London are around 115Mbps, making it tied with Belfast for last place among the UK’s major cities. The leader here is Glasgow, with a median 5G download speed of 184.99Mbps. Londoners also find themselves in signal not-spots more often than residents and visitors to other cities.
Vodafone is using its network to predict rainfall and fight flooding

1 month ago | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson

It turns out that mobile networks are good for more than just bringing a signal to phones and other devices – they can also be used to forecast rain. You see, the wireless link between masts in mobile networks can be affected by precipitation, so if that data can be analysed, it can be used to predict imminent rainfall – by which we mean rain in between a few minutes and a few hours.
Forget masts - you could soon be making calls using signals from space

1 month ago | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson

Mobile coverage in the UK is fairly decent overall, with most of the population being able to get some sort of a signal – even if not always 5G. But there are still areas where there’s no signal at all, and due to how remote these places are it could be tricky or expensive to service them. But Ofcom might have a solution, and it involves looking spacewards.
EE’s 5G Standalone is about to boost connectivity in loads more towns and cities

1 month ago | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson

5G Standalone is the next big mobile connectivity upgrade, and it’s one that EE is well on the way to bringing to the bulk of the UK, as following an initial launch in September of 2024, the network has announced that loads more towns and cities will get 5G Standalone by the end of March. In total, by the end of this month 5G Standalone on EE will be available in 50 major towns and cities across the UK, bringing coverage to over 28 million people, which is more than 40% of the UK population.
Vodafone has successfully used AI to boost 5G energy efficiency

2 months ago | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson

It’s early days for AI, and we’re still discovering new ways it can be implemented, with Vodafone recently testing out a promising new use case for it. The network in partnership with Ericsson has successfully trialled a combination of AI and ML (machine learning) solutions to significantly reduce the power consumption of 5G Radio Units.
O2 roaming - charges in Europe and beyond

Feb 11, 2025 | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson |Kevin Thomas

If you’re heading abroad then one of the questions you might be asking yourself is whether you’ll be charged to use your phone – and if so, how much. The good news if you’re on O2 is that this is the only one of the big four networks that doesn’t charge to roam in select locations on any of its plans, so depending on where you’re going there’s a good chance you won’t have to pay.
EE speed restrictions - how fast is 10Mbps, 25Mbps, and 100Mbps?

Jan 28, 2025 | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson |Kevin Thomas

EE is one of the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile networks, but depending on what plan you’re on you won’t be able to take advantage of all that speed. That’s because unlike most networks, EE applies speed caps to some of its plans. So while you can get plans with unrestricted speeds (or uncapped speeds to use EE’s wording), there are also plans that top out at 100Mbps, 25Mbps, and even just 10Mbps.
BT put 5G Standalone network slicing to the test at the Belfast Christmas Market

Jan 16, 2025 | 5g.co.uk | James Rogerson |Kevin Thomas

As great as 5G is, it still isn’t fully delivering on its potential when it comes to things like network slicing – a technology that so far has barely been used – but BT just successfully deployed its first real world 5G Standalone mobile broadband network using network slicing. That sentence is a bit of a mouthful so let’s break it down. 5G Standalone – sometimes abbreviated to 5GSA – refers to a 5G network that doesn’t rely on any legacy 4G connectivity or infrastructure.