O2’s 5G coverage reaches 20 UK cities by end-2019

U.K. telco O2 says it is providing 5G service in 20 cities across the country as of the end of 2019. O2, which is part of Telefonica, initially launched its 5G service in October, in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Leeds and Slough. It subsequently switched on 5G hotspots in Leicester and Lisburn in November and now customers in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bradford, Sheffield, Coventry, Nottingham, Norwich, Bristol, Derby and Stoke are also connected to the 5G network. O2 also said that its 5G rollout will continue with a plan to reach a total of 50 locations by summer 2020. By the end of March, the carrier expects to provide 5G in Windsor, Eton, Reading, Blackpool, Bournemouth and Guildford. “We were incredibly proud to switch on our 5G network in October, and it is brilliant to hit our target of 20 towns and cities connected to our next-generation network as we head into 2020,” said Derek McManus, COO for Telefónica UK. “Our range of tariffs make it easy and fair for customers to access 5G, with flexible plans that cost no more than 4G.”