The United Kingdom will soon join the small list of countries where mobile 5G service is now available. South Korea was the first, followed by the United States. It has now been confirmed that Vodafone will be the first mobile network in the United Kingdom to provide the country’s first 5G service.
Vodafone has confirmed that it’s 5G mobile service will go live on July 3rd while 5G roaming in Germany, Italy, Spain as well as the UK will arrive later this summer. As you can probably imagine, there will be some limitations with the initial roll out.
The carrier’s 5G service will only be available in seven cities to begin with. They include London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, and Liverpool. It will obviously expand the service to more cities in the country down the line but that’s going to take some time. Cities like Blackpool, Guildford, Newbury, Plymouth, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, and others will receive the service later this year.
While firm pricing information has not yet been released, Vodafone does say that it will “price 5G the same as 4G” for both consumers and business customers. It will sell a variety of 5G smartphones online or through its retail stores starting this summer. The first 5G-capable smartphone will go on sale next week. There’s also going to be a 5G router on offer for those who want to use the service in the home or office without a fixed line connection.