BT trials 5G Standalone network slicing for Christmas market
16 January 2025
BT Group has announced the first real-world deployment of 5G Standalone network slicing capabilities over the EE mobile network, launched to support faster and more resilient mobile payments at Belfast’s Christmas Market.
During the two-week trial, a dedicated slice of the EE 5G network was partitioned for use in the renowned Lavery’s Beer Tent to support its eight mobile payment terminals, enabling superfast card and mobile payments for thousands of customers. It marks the first time that a business has benefitted from access to a partitioned slice from EE’s public network and live 5G Standalone core.
Find out more UK’s ESN advances with Samsung, Ericsson and Exponential-e
16 January 2025
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is teaming up with IBM as the mission-critical (MCX) solution provider to the UK’s Home Office, for a User Services deployment as part of the Emergency Services Network (ESN).
Designed to prioritize network access for first responders in emergencies, ESN will deliver reliable and seamless connectivity to over 300,000 first responders in the UK.
O2 (Virgin Media) to begin 3G withdrawal in April
14 January 2025
O2 (Virgin Media) has revealed that they’ll begin the withdrawal of their older 3G mobile (broadband) services across the UK in April 2025, which will start with the city of Durham.
The first switch-off site in Durham will help to inform their wider withdrawal programme. The process also aims to free up radio spectrum so it can be used to further improve the network coverage and mobile broadband speeds of more modern 4G and 5G based networks, as well as future 6G services. The switch-off will also reduce the operators’ costs and power consumption.
Find out more WBA announces 10 predictions for 2025
07 January 2025
The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has shared 10 predictions, laid out by its President and CEO, Tiago Rodrigues, for Wi-Fi in 2025.
Detailed in full in the WBA Annual Industry Report 2025, these trends reflect how Wi-Fi is evolving to meet the demands of increased connectivity, higher speeds, better security, the growing number of devices connected to the internet and a greater focus on energy efficiency.
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