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Mobile operator EE (BT) has today announced that 25 major events and more than 30 tourist destinations (seaside and market towns) will have been upgraded to support their latest 5G Standalone (5G+) mobile broadband technology this summer, bringing faster data speeds and better congestion management.
Just to recap. Early 5G deployments were Non-Standalone (NSA), which meant they were partly reliant upon older and slower 4G infrastructure. But SA (5G+) networks are pure end-to-end 5G that can deliver ultra-low latency times, greater energy efficiency, better mobile broadband speeds (particularly uploads), network slicing, improved support for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, support for Voice over 5G SA (Vo5G) calling, and increased reliability and security etc.
EE originally started deploying 5G+ across 15 major UK cities back in September 2024 (here) and they’ve since been rapidly expanding upon that coverage. The operator has previously informed ISPreview that they only announce 5GSA availability once a location has “at least 95% outdoor coverage“, which helps to ensure a good level of connectivity.
The operator’s 5G+ network is now available to 75% of the UK’s population and today’s upgrades mean the technology covers more than 44 million people in England, as well as over 2.1 million people in Wales, 3.3 million people in Scotland and nearly 1 million people in Northern Ireland.
Some of the 25 major events set to be given 5G+ capability this summer include BST Hyde Park, the Isle of Wight Festival, the Reading and Leeds Festival, the F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. As for the 30+ tourist destinations, we’ve listed those below.
Over 30 Tourist Destinations EE’s 5G+ Upgrade
- Ballynahinch
- Blackpool
- Blackwood
- Bournemouth
- Canvey Island
- Chepstow
- Chester-le-Street
- Coleraine
- Dawlish
- Dumbarton
- East Kilbride
- Eastleigh
- Falkirk
- Flint
- Hebden Bridge
- Holywell
- Lisburn
- Monmouth
- Motherwell
- Newport (Isle of Wight)
- Pontypridd
- Porthcawl
- Rhyl
- Risca
- Roslin
- St Ives (Cambridgeshire)
- Stroud
- Tonypandy
- Torquay
- Weston-super-Mare
- Whitehaven
- Whitley Bay
- Winchester
Greg McCall, Chief Security and Networks Officer at BT, said:
“The summer has arrived and as our town centres and tourist hotspots get busier, staying connected with fast, secure and reliable mobile coverage has never been more important. 5G+ on EE has been designed to deliver exactly that, so whether you’re video-calling your friends from a packed festival crowd or just keeping in touch with your family while you’re shopping in the high street, switching to 5G+ means you can benefit from a more dependable connection.”
The latest upgrades are said to signal a shift into a more “practical phase” for 5G+ deployments, with EE planning around the places and moments where demand is needed most, rather than treating rollout as a simple coverage-map exercise. The operator also reported that customer usage of 5G+ increased by more than 11% between March and April 2026.