EE switches on Wembley Stadium 5G standalone networkEE switches on Wembley Stadium 5G standalone network

The enhanced in-stadium connectivity will go live for the first time at the England Women’s UEFA Nations League match against Spain later this month EE recently re-signed a multi-year partnership with Wembley, and it says this deployment of 5G standalone ensures “it remains one of the best-connected stadia in the world.”

The increased capacity and performance will offer visitors more reliable mobile internet, faster loading speeds, and improved video calls even in busy areas and during major events we’re told. The network also has the potential to plug into Wembley Stadium’s wider event operations, including retail point-of-sale, television broadcasting, and “future fan experiences” – whatever they might be.

EE notes that its current roster of locations where 5G standalone is available includes Ashton-Under-Lyne, Barrow-in-Furness, Barry, Bath, Belfast, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Bury, Cardiff, Coventry, Dudley, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newport, Nottingham, Sheffield, St Helens, Stockport, Swansea, Weston Super Mare, Wigan, and Wolverhampton.

“The Lionesses have made history with their ground-breaking performances on the pitch, and now we’ve made history off it with the launch of the first 5G standalone network at Wembley Stadium,” said Marc Allera, CEO at EE.

Paolo Pescatore, Analyst at PP Foresight said: “Mobile connectivity is now an essential part of the fan experience at major events as more people want to capture, share and livestream the biggest moments. 5G standalone is the most advanced mobile network technology and best placed to meet the demands of 90,000 people in a sold-out stadium who all want to use their smartphones at the same time. It’s fantastic to see Wembley Stadium and EE leading the charge and with so many huge sport, music and other events coming up in 2025, this could be a real game changer.”

In September last year BT/EE hosted an event at its London HQ to announce the launch of its standalone 5G network, which also showcased a new generation of routers using wifi 7 technology which. Also announced were a new set of tariffs at more of a premium for access to the standalone tech.