Vodafone has added 12 new areas across England and Wales to its 5G network coverage, allowing consumers, businesses, and their employees to benefit from faster mobile data connectivity.
Vodafone’s 5G is now available in Coventry, Dursley, Golborne, Keynsham, Llantwit Major, Lydney, Redditch, Rickmansworth, South Lackenby, Thornbury, Watford, and Wigan.
Businesses in these areas will be able to improve productivity and employee communications by adopting 5G, which is expected to add as much as £6.3 billion annually to the value of the UK manufacturing industry by 2030.
Commenting on the announcement, Vodafone chief network officer Andrea Dona said that 5G will provide extended opportunities to businesses and their employees, while also “supporting the local economy and helping to deliver a greener, more prosperous and digitally connected region”.
5G has been found to be more sustainable than its predecessors, with a 2020 report from O2 estimating that the application of 5G in manufacturing, transport, and healthcare could see the UK save up to 269 megatonnes of CO2 by 2035.
“The arrival of 5G gives our customers some of the fastest mobile data speeds in the UK, and a mobile network they can rely on,” said Dona, before adding that Vodafone is “investing in our network across the UK and look forward to seeing how that investment will benefit local people and businesses”.
Flexible IT for agile service providers
Leverage consumption-based economics to create competitive advantage
Vodafone’s 5G rollout has intensified as businesses are asked to migrate their services to 4G and 5G ahead of the 3G shutdown scheduled for 2023. The repurposing of 3G spectrum will allow Vodafone to switch to more sustainable equipment used in 5G networks, decreasing its environmental footprint in line with the goal of achieving net zero by 2027. The UK is expected to phase out all of its public 2G and 3G mobile networks in the next ten years to facilitate the mass rollout of 5G and 6G, in accordance with a deadline imposed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The latest announcement comes amid intensified rumours of a merger between Three and Vodafone, following a call for “structural change” in the UK’s telecommunications sector from Three CEO Robert Finnegan.
