When is meaningful 5g coming to Darlington?

[Jimothy82]

Hi all, I’ve been with EE for years and Darlington still only has a small 5g presence, considering 3G is going to be turned off soon, 4g is patchy I hope 5g will be my saviour.

Is someone able to provide me with a road map with dates to when 5g will be available throughout Darlington?

[bristolian]

Coverage patterns are largely dictated by the frequencies used rather than the "G" technology - EE's 3G was only ever deployed on high-bands which are better used for 4G services. With the use of low-band 800Mhz spectrum, 4G coverage exceeds 3G in many areas.

In addition, the current NSA-nature of 5G deployment means a base-layer of 4G is required - in other words, you won't get 5G without pre-existing 4G.

[Jimothy82]

Hi thanks for the answer. So does that mean we won’t ever get full 5g since 4g is still patchy? Or at least for many years to come as I’m sure 6g will be out in the next decade.

[bristolian]

The "G" makes very little difference to how well covered a particular location is, the spectrum being used has far more impact - alongside site placement.

4G uses a mixture of low-band & high-band frequencies, and in many areas coverage far exceeds that of 2G & 3G. Rollout of 4G is ongoing, and without knowing your specific area - it's likely a new site may be the best resolution.

Except for some remotely-located exceptions, all new sites carry a mixture of 2G & 4G services. 5G is usually added whenever the specific site config allows.