EE offers first UK 5G to a bunch of bankers

EE is claiming victory in the UK 5G race, but its newly announced live trial in Canary Wharf is still just a trial.

Furthermore, said live trial hasn’t yet taken place, it seems, with EE stating ‘This will be the UK’s first live 5G trial, and is a major milestone in the rollout of the next generation of mobile networks.’ But the switch that powers the trial has been flicked, which is something, and is clearly considered worthy of a special announcement.

“This is the latest milestone in our 5G rollout – a live test of our 5G network, in a hugely busy hotspot, where we know there’s going to be demand from customers for increased mobile capacity,” said Fotis Karonis, who now goes by the title of 5G Technology Lead at BT Group. “We were UK pioneers with 4G and today we saw the UK’s first live connections on 5G – this is a huge step forward for our digital infrastructure.”

So has it happened yet or not? Within the same press release EE has used the future, present and past tenses to refer to the same event. Come on guys… ‘The live trial will be held in Montgomery Square, Canary Wharf,’ continues the release. ‘With 150,000 people coming to the Canary Wharf estate every day, the site is one of the most popular regions in the country and attracts consumers and businesses that require world-class connectivity.’

“Staying at the forefront of connectivity and new technologies is critical to our community, and that’s why we’re partnering with BT Group to support delivery of 5G,” said Mark Nallen, Head of Technology and Innovation, Canary Wharf Group. “The consumers who live and work here will benefit from being better connected, and the enterprises based here will have the chance to partner with BT Group to understand the full capabilities of 5G.”

There can be little doubt that the bunch of bankers inhabiting Canary Wharf will make full use of 5G, when it arrives, to bank ever more frequently and take their banking to a whole new level. EE seems to have anticipated scepticism about the substance of this supposed 5G launch so it provided a photo of a woman standing in Canary Wharf in an EE-coloured top, looking at her phone, which you can see above. Can’t say fairer than that.