EE has switched on the UK’s first trial of 5G mobile technology at Canary Wharf in London.
The telecoms firm, which is part of the BT Group, is using a site in Montgomery Square in Canary Wharf to test the technology in a real-life setting.
The next generation of wireless mobile connections, 5G is expected to offer significant speed increases on 4G.
The trial will test the 5G spectrum and devices used to implement it for performance, speeds and coverage, with the test area visited by around 150,000 people each day.
Fotis Karonis, the 5G technology lead at the BT Group, said: “This is the latest milestone in our 5G rollout – a live test of our 5G network in a hugely busy ‘hotspot’ where we know there’s going to be demand from customers for increased mobile capacity.
“With constant upgrades to 4G, and laying the foundations for 5G, we’re working to always be able to deliver what our customers need – both consumers and the vertical industries that will make the greatest use of 5G.
“We were UK pioneers with 4G and today we saw the UK’s first live connections on 5G – this is a huge step forward for our digital infrastructure.”
EE said it also planned to introduce 10 more 5G hotspots as part of its trials across east London later in October.
It has previously announced plans to launch a 5G network in 2019.
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