Boris Johnson promises Londoners 5G speeds by 2020
London residents have been promised 5G speeds by Mayor Boris Johnson within six years. It is expected that Boris Johnson will be announcing the plans this week that will explain when London residents can expect to be able to access 5G services. This is set to be part of a detailed plan for London infrastructure between now and 2050.
LTE speeds were only introduced in the UK in 2012 once EE was given permission by Ofcom to use the existing spectrum. Other companies were able to launch their own 4G networks in 2013. However, it is thought that the London Mayor wants the city to be leading the introduction of the next rung of mobile services. He has commented that he wants to build on London’s growing reputation as the technological capital of Europe. A major part of this will be to improve the connectivity of the city.
The introduction and rollout of 4G services in Europe lagged behind that of the US and some Asian countries so the EU has now announced that it will be working alongside South Korea on developing 5G services. South Korea is considered to be a leader of 5G technology and has also announced plans to have it introduced by 2020.
£5 million in funding has been awarded by the UK government to the University of Surrey to support its research into 5G and some of it will be used to develop the ‘5G performance centre’. The university has announced that it will be working with famous names such as Samsung and Fujitsu on the project.