Three’s 5G network has finally launched, but for now it’s only in London and only useable for home broadband. But for those who are interested in that, this is still a big deal – and it’s just the start.
Three’s 5G home broadband service comes with unlimited data, it works without a landline, and it offers convenient plug and play setup, as well as free next working day delivery. So you can get up and running almost instantly without an engineer visit.
The service comes in at £35 per month with no upfront cost on a 12-month contract, and on the postcodes we checked (in Camden) supposedly offers average speeds of 100Mbps, which is competitive with fibre broadband.
Banging router
Three’s router can get up to 64 devices online at once too, so you should have no problem getting all of your computers, phones, consoles and other smart devices connected at the same time.
If you can’t wait until the next working day to get it, you even have the option to pay £20 for same day delivery, and when you move house you can simply take your 5G router with you and plug it in at the new place – assuming Three has 5G coverage there.
Limited availability but it's set to improve fast
Indeed, availability is the main issue with Three 5G home broadband right now. Even within London, Three’s 5G home broadband service isn’t yet available everywhere, but you can enter your postcode here to see if you can get it where you are. Coverage areas include parts of Clapham, Ealing, Hoxton, Acton, Putney and more.
And if you can’t get coverage in your area, or you don’t live in London, that might only briefly be a problem, as Three is bringing 5G to 25 cities and towns by the end of the year, as well as launching a 5G mobile service, so you won’t be limited to home broadband for long.
No extra cost
Not only that, but Three will offer its 5G mobile service at not extra cost, and is promising speeds up to twice as fast as rivals. That could theoretically mean peak speeds of over 2Gbps, and even average speeds should be some way faster than the 100Mbps currently offered on its home broadband.
That might mean that Three’s 5G home broadband will soon get a lot faster too, but that’s just speculation for now.
At the time of writing Three’s only real competition in this space is Vodafone, which also offers a 5G home broadband service. It offers unlimited data too, though it’s priced steeper at £50 per month for that (though plans with limited data start at £30 per month). The space will soon get crowded though, with EE also launching a 5G home broadband service before long.
James has been writing for us for over 10 years. Currently, he is Editorial Manager for our group of companies ( 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk) and sub-editor at TechRadar. He specialises in smartphones, mobile networks/ technology, tablets, and wearables.
In the past, James has also written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media, Smart TV Radar, and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV. He has a film studies degree from the University of Kent, Canterbury, and has over a decade’s worth of professional writing experience.
