50%+ of UK Population Has 5G Coverage According to Provider; Aims for 90% by 2028

By B.N. Frank

Opposition to 5G has been worldwide for years due to various confirmed issues with the technology (see 1, 2, 3). This has limited, slowed and/or stopped deployment in some locations but not others including the UK where it was first launched in 2019.

From RCR Wireless:

EE reaches half of UK population with its 5G service

By Juan Pedro Tomás

5G Carriers Featured Network Infrastructure

EE initially launched 5G technology in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester

U.K. carrier EE announced its 5G network has already passed 50% population coverage in the country.

EE, which had launched its 5G network in May 2019, claimed to be the only mobile operator to pass this milestone in the U.K. EE also noted the achievement comes one year ahead of EE’s target and five years ahead of the government’s similar ambition.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez, said: “I am delighted to see EE has made good progress rolling out 5G to half of the country. The technology, which can be up to 20 times faster than 4G, will help us in our aims to level up our economy and unleash the potential of communities across the U.K.”

“We are working alongside industry to boost rural coverage through a £1 billion deal with mobile phone operators and are developing a new strategy to boost further investment in 5G and help operators rapidly expand their networks,” Lopez added.

Marc Allera, CEO Consumer Division, BT Group, said: “Today’s milestone is a huge achievement in our 5G journey. EE was the first network to launch 5G in the U.K. and now we’re the first mobile network operator to take the technology to 50% of the U.K. population. Our ambitions for 5G don’t stop here. We’ll continue to invest in our network to provide our customers with unrivalled connectivity.”

EE initially launched 5G technology in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester. Other large cities in which the telco offers 5G coverage includes Bristol, Covently, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Sunderland.

The U.K. carrier previously said it expected to reach half of the U.K. population with its 5G service by early 2023. The telco has also said that its 5G network will reach 90% of the country’s territory by 2028.

To reach this benchmark, EE used its 700 MHz 5G spectrum to offer indoor and wider rural coverage. EE secured 2×10 megahertz of paired frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz band at a cost of £280 million (currently $346.2 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 for £168 million.

Last month, EE claimed to be the first European network to successfully aggregate a 5G signal using seven different spectrum carriers.

The experiment was performed in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies at BT’s Borehamwood lab, and used five 4G spectrum bands and two 5G. The latter included the 3.6 GHz frequencies acquired in U.K.’s latest auction in 2021.

EE noted that the lab tests reached 5G data speeds of 2.2 Gbps in with expected real-world speeds of over 1.7 Gbps on the network. A mobile test device featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform with Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System was used to achieve the milestone, EE said.

Some researchers have suggested that 5G activation may be contributing to COVID-19 infections as well as hundreds of thousands if not millions of bird deaths. Of course, others say it’s not. Nevertheless, research has confirmed that there are health risks associated with 5G exposure as well as exposure to 4G and other sources of wireless Wi-Fi radiation (see 1, 2) and Electromagnetic Fields (aka “Electrosmog”).

Since 2017 doctors and scientists have asked for 5G moratoriums on Earth and in space (see 1, 2) and the majority of scientists oppose deployment. Since 2018 there have been reports of people and animals experiencing symptoms and illnesses after it was activated (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ). In 2019, telecom executives gave U.S. congressional testimony that they had NO independent scientific evidence that 5G is safe. Additionally, in 2021, a federal court ruled in favor of organizations and petitioners that sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for NOT adequately protecting Americans from wireless radiation exposure (including 5G).

Regardless, the insidious “Race for 5G” continues at an alarming pace. In fact, recently two companies announced that they have joined forces to speed up deployment via streetlights as 360 million can be fitted for this treatment. Your neighborhood may be next.