EE's 5G network will launch in the UK next week on May 30, a month before Vodafone launches its rival service on July 3. EE's service will be available in six cities during its launch – London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester – and the operator says it plans to add ten more cities in 2020.
Although EE’s network is launching first, Vodafone’s network will initially be available in more cities. Vodafone’s network will be available in seven cities at launch – Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and London. Together with EE’s launch, this means that residents of Cardiff, Birmingham and London will soon have two 5G networks to choose from.
5G coverage will initially differ between Vodafone and EE. While Vodafone has full control over the availability of 5G in your area by postcode alone, EE has only provided giant maps that don't really help you decide whether you can get 5G coverage in your area.
EE is opening pre-orders for four 5G phones today. There's the Samsung S10 5G, which is also set to be available on Vodafone's network, as well as the Oppo Reno 5G, OnePlus 7 Pro 5G and LG V50 ThinQ. Missing from this list are Huawei's Mate X and Mate 20 X (5G), two phones that Vodafone announced would come on its own network.
Prices for 5G start at £54 per month for 10GB, rising to £74 per month for 120GB. Alternatively, SIM-only plans will be available starting at £32 per month for 20GB, up to £52 for 100GB.
Alongside its mobile plans, EE is also launching 5G home broadband using the HTC 5G Hub or 5GEE Home Router. After an upfront cost of £100 you can get either 50GB and 100GB of data per month for £50 or £75 respectively.
Today's announcement means that two of the UK 's four major mobile networks have announced launch dates for their 5G networks. O2 and Three have yet to announce official launch dates for their next-generation networks beyond saying they will be available before the end of the year.
The launch of the UK's first 5G network next week comes almost two months after the launch of the first 5G networks in the US in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis.
