United Kingdom: EE becomes the third carrier of 5G Standalone network in UK

EE has launched its 5G Standalone (5G SA) network in the UK, becoming the third carrier in the country to launch 5G SA, following Vodafone and Virgin Media O2.However, EE is the first to charge a premium for its 5G SA service.

“Today, EE is launching UK firsts in network capabilities designed to unleash the huge potential of a wave of AI powered devices," said Marc Allera, CEO of EE. “5G standalone is a new mobile network giving enhanced performance to customers from day one and unlocks game-changing new services of the future. It’s been built to handle the growing range of AI-powered devices, from smartphones to laptops, tablets, and more."

EE has pushed the service live in 15 cities; Bath, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Sheffield. The telco was the first carrier in the UK to launch its 5G network in May 2019, but notes that with 5G Standalone, a network that is not reliant on older mobile generations and solely uses a 5G core network, it will be better equipped to embrace AI.