EE has confirmed that it’ll be the first operator in the world to offer the OnePlus 5G smartphone and has announced the two firms are working on an R&D partnership to ensure the best possible 5G connected experience for customers.
The network is switching on its first 5G sites in 16 UK cities in 2019, starting with the UK’s four capital cities – London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast, plus Birmingham and Manchester.
As well as the six launch cities, EE will also be introducing 5G across the busiest parts of ten more UK cities: Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry and Bristol.
It says it is “upgrading to 5G where it can make the biggest difference to the most people,” adding that the sites to be upgraded in 2019 account for 25% of all data across its network, despite only covering 15% of the UK population.
Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer division, said: “EE and OnePlus have a shared vision: to give our customers the best connected experience possible.
“We’re working together on cutting edge technology to deliver that, and we’re leading the world on the journey to 5G.
“Adding 5G to the UK’s number one 4G network will increase reliability, increase speeds, and keep our customers connected where they need it most. We have an ambition to connect our customers to 4G, 5G or Wi-Fi 100% of the time.”
Pete Lau, CEO and founder of OnePlus, said: “The pursuit of speed has defined the OnePlus DNA since OnePlus was founded five years ago.
“There’s no one more suitable than OnePlus to make a 5G smartphone. Our users are always eager to try new things and they are now ready to experience the next generation of connectivity and speed.
“In response, OnePlus has poured efforts into 5G research since 2016. Today, we stand poised to embrace the dawn of 5G.”
