EE announces first UK 5G trial in London’s Tech City from October

EE is set to switch on the first live 5G trial network in the UK, starting this October.

The trial will be in London’s Tech City, near the Old Street roundabout (aka Silicon roundabout) and encompassing streets like City Road, Old Street, Hoxton Square and Chiswell Street.

Ten sites in total will be 5G enabled in the area.

Five small businesses and five small homes will have the chance of being selected to trial new 5G technology over beta 5G broadband devices, to experience the high-speed connectivity afforded by 5G.

EE’s social media channels will be used to determine who the lucky trialists will be.

The purpose of the trial will not only be to test the roll out of a network, as well as testing end-user equipment, but also to see how 5G will work in a densely populated environment. It will also help EE achieve its aim of launching the first commercial 5G network in the UK, built on top of its existing 4G network.

Despite the small number of people using the network, the service will be monitored to see how well data speeds are maintained in different environments in the area, as well as when users are on the move.

More information will be available when the trial begins later this year.