Three offers 5G home broadband with the 5G Hub router, average download speeds of 150Mbps & the first 3 months free.
In the UK, Three now offers unlimited 5G home broadband in selected postcodes across 400 towns and cities. You’ll get average download speeds of more than 150Mbps – more than twice the speed of the most widely-available fibre broadband plans. You’ll also get a 5G Hub router included on the plans from £20/month.
Three’s 5G home broadband can be ordered online with free next working-day delivery. It only requires a ‘plug and play’ setup: just plug the 5G Hub router in at the wall and it’ll be ready to use straight away (there’s no need for a phone line or engineer visit).
As a special offer for March 2023, you’ll get 3 months free 5G home broadband when you order through this link. You’ll pay £20 per month from month 4 onwards on your 24-month plan. Alternatively, if you’re looking for flexible short-term broadband, you can choose a 1-month rolling plan for £24 per month.
Get 5G Broadband with 3 months free →
In this article, we’ll review Three’s 5G home broadband. We’ll look at how the 5G home broadband service works, along with the 5G Hub router that’s included on your plan. We’ll also compare it to traditional fibre broadband services before looking at the availability of 5G broadband.
| Prices From: | Free for three months, then £20 per month |
|---|---|
| Contract Length: | 1 month or 24 month contract |
| Download Speed: | 150Mbps+ average Will vary based on the signal strength & coverage in your area |
| Router: | Three 5G Hub |
| Coverage: | Selected UK postcodes with 5G coverage (check your postcode) |
Contents
What is Three 5G Home Broadband?
In the UK, Three’s 5G home broadband is a new way of getting high-speed broadband internet in your home. It offers an average download speed of 150Mbps, without the need for a phone line or cable connection. This makes it about twice as fast as the most widely-available fibre broadband plans (though not as fast as the full fibre services that are now available in some areas).
It’s easy to set up the 5G home broadband service as it’s a straightforward plug-and-play solution. There’s no need for a landline or engineer visit – simply plug the 5G Hub in at the wall and you’re ready to get online.
The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of Three’s 5G home broadband and traditional fibre broadband providers:
| Three 5G Home Broadband | Traditional Fibre Broadband |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Plug-and-play broadband with no need for a phone line. Available in selected locations. |
Fibre broadband is delivered through a phone line or cable. Available in 90% of UK homes. |
| Starts from £20/month (150Mbps+ download speed). No set-up fee, plug and play solution. | Starts from £22/month (63Mbps download speed) or £25/month (100Mbps speed). Set-up fees may apply. |
| Next working day delivery with no engineer visits. Simply plug in your 5G Hub and start using it straight away. | It takes 2-3 weeks to install and activate your fibre broadband service. An engineer visit may also be required. |
| 5G broadband can be taken with you to a different location (coverage permitting). | Fibre broadband is tied to one physical address and needs to be set-up again when you move home. |
| Can be susceptible to interference (e.g. from weather) or congestion. 5G coverage dependent on location. | Less likely to be affected by interference or congestion. May give more stable download speeds. |
| More about Three 5G Broadband → | More about traditional fibre broadband → |
Three’s 5G home broadband service initially launched in parts of London during August 2019. As of 2022, it’s available in selected postcodes across more than 400 UK towns and cities. You can check the availability at your address on Three’s website.
Three 5G Home Broadband Plans
5G Broadband Plans
Three currently offers a choice of the following plans on their 5G home broadband service:
- Pay £20/month on a 24-month plan. You’ll get three months free when you order through this link. You’ll also benefit from a 30-day money back guarantee on this plan.
- For more flexibility, you can pay £24/month to get 5G broadband on a one-month rolling plan when you order through this link.
Both plans will give you unlimited downloads with average speeds in excess of 150Mbps. There’s no upfront fee on either plan and you’ll receive the same 5G Hub router from Three.
| Service | Data Allowance | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Three 5G Hub | Unlimited Data | 24 month contract | £0 | £20/month with 3 months free |
Three 5G Hub | Unlimited Data | 1 month contract | £0 | £24/month |
See all Three 5G Home Broadband deals →
The average download speed on Three’s 5G home broadband service ranges from 100Mbps to 200Mbps. This is based on the speed that at least half of all customers are able to get during the evening peak hour (between 8pm and 10pm). You’ll be given an personalised estimate of the download speeds available where you live when checking the availability of 5G broadband at your address.
On the 24-month plan, you can benefit from a 30-day money back guarantee on Three’s 5G home broadband. This allows you to cancel your contract without penalty in the first 30 days if you’re not satisfied with the service.
An acceptable usage policy (AUP) applies to the Three Broadband service. While there aren’t any limits on how much you can download, Three says they reserve the right to suspend your usage of the service or to apply traffic management to it, if your usage “either exceeds that reasonably expected of someone using the Service or materially affects other users’ enjoyment of the Service, or has an adverse impact on our network”.
Special Offers
As a special offer for March 2023, Three is offering three months free on their 5G home broadband service when you order through this link. It isn’t necessary to use any voucher codes during checkout but you’ll need to make sure you complete the entire order online.
See Three 5G Broadband offers →
If you’re looking for a more flexible broadband service (e.g. for student broadband), Three also offers 5G home broadband on a one-month rolling plan. You’ll pay £24/month to get 5G home broadband on a one-month rolling contract.
Three 5G Hub Router
When you sign up for Three’s 5G home broadband, you’ll receive a 5G Hub router. This is a small device that you’ll just need to plug in to a power socket inside your home. It picks up a 5G signal from Three’s network and converts it into a wi-fi network that your other devices can connect to.
Three’s latest 5G Hub router supports a maximum download speed of 4.7Gbps (4,700Mbps). In practice, however, the average speeds will be more like 100-200Mbps on today’s 5G networks. The 5G Hub also supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax), allowing you to share your home broadband connection with up to 64 devices. There are also two 2.5G Multi-Gig Ethernet sockets included, allowing you to connect wired devices to your home network.
In terms of how your other devices interact with the 5G Hub, it’s no different to using a traditional fibre broadband service. Your 5G Hub router plays the same role as your fibre broadband router. You can still connect all of your devices to it including your laptop, tablet, smartphone, smart TV, games console and other smart home devices. You can also use all of the normal apps and services that you’re used to on it.
The following table shows the technical specifications of Three’s 5G Hub router:
| Three 5G Hub (Zyxel NR5103E) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Home Broadband Plans | |
| Price: | From £20/month |
| Data: | Unlimited |
| Unlimited Data: | £20/month |
| Contract Length: | 1-24 months |
| Mobile Connectivity | |
| 5G Connectivity: | Up to 4700 Mbps download |
| 5G Bands: | 5G NR bands TBC |
| 4G Download Speed: | Up to 1600 Mbps download |
| 4G Bands: | LTE bands TBC |
| External Antenna: | Yes, 4x TS-9 connectors |
| Home Network Connectivity | |
| Dual-Band Wi-Fi: | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity: | 802.11a/b/ |
| Wi-Fi Devices: | Up to 64 devices |
| Ethernet: | 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports |
| Other | |
| Dimensions: | 13.1 x 22.7 x 13.3 cm |
| Weight: | 650g |
| Model: | Zyxel NR5103E |
| Colour: | White |
| More Information: | See three.co.uk |
Three’s latest 5G Hub router (the Zyxel NR5103E) launched in September 2022. It replaces the older ZTE 5G Hub (ZTE MC801A) that was previously offered from February 2022. Prior to this, customers were offered the Huawei 5G CPE Pro (H112-370).
When you cancel your Three Broadband service, you’ll need to return the 5G Hub router to Three.
Comparison to Alternatives
5G Broadband VS Fibre Broadband
Three’s 5G home broadband is an alternative to traditional fixed-line fibre broadband from providers such as BT, EE, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Vodafone.
At present, you’ll pay £20/month for Three’s 5G home broadband. This will give you an average download speed of 150Mbps:
| Network | Data Allowance | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Three 5G Hub | Unlimited Data | 24 month contract | £0 | £20/month with 3 months free |
Three 5G Hub | Unlimited Data | 1 month contract | £0 | £24/month |
For comparison, you’ll pay at least £22/month for a fibre broadband service with average download speeds between 50Mbps and 67Mbps:
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fibre 2 | 67Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £22/month |
 Superfast Fibre Plus | 63Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £23.99/month with 1 months free |
 Super Fibre | 63Mbps download | 12 month contract | £5 | £24/month |
 Fibre 65 | 67Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £27/month |
 M50 Fibre Broadband + Weekend Calls | 54Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £28/month |
 EE Fibre Plus | 67Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £29/month |
 Sky Superfast | 59Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £30.50/month |
 Fibre 2 | 67Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £33.99/month with £100 reward card |
One advantage of choosing a fibre-based service is wider availability compared to Three’s 5G home broadband. For instance, traditional fibre broadband services are now available in more than 90% of UK homes. In contrast, Three’s 5G home broadband is only available in selected postcodes across 400 UK towns and cities.
If you’d like a fibre broadband service with comparable speeds to Three’s 5G home broadband, you’ll need cable broadband or full fibre (FTTP) broadband. The following table shows comparable fibre broadband plans with an average download speed of at least 100Mbps:
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Full Fibre 100 | 100Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £25/month |
M125 Fibre Broadband Only | 132Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £26.50/month |
Fibre 150 | 145Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £29.95/month |
EE Fibre Max 100 | 145Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £31/month |
Full Fibre 100 | 100Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £31.99/month with £100 reward card |
Full Fibre 100 | 150Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £34.99/month with £70 reward card |
Sky Ultrafast | 145Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £35/month |
For more information, see our full guide to home broadband in the UK.
Other 4G & 5G Broadband Services
As an alternative to Three’s 5G home broadband, you can also consider other 4G home broadband and other 5G home broadband services.
If you’re currently unable to get Three’s 5G broadband where you live, you might be able to get Three’s 4G home broadband instead. This is available for £20/month.
| Service | Data Allowance | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Three 4G Hub | Unlimited Data | 24 month contract | £0 | £20/month with 3 months free |
Three 4G Hub | Unlimited Data | 12 month contract | £0 | £25/month |
Three 4G Hub | Unlimited Data | 1 month contract | £28 | £30/month |
You might also be able to get 4G home broadband or 5G home broadband from other providers. The following table shows some of these alternatives:
| Network | Data Allowance | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 BT 4G Home Hub | 100GB Data | 18 month contract | £0 | £25/month |
 4G Internet WiFi Router | Unlimited Data | 24 month contract | £99 | £29.99/month |
 Vodafone GigaCube 4G | 100GB Data | 18 month contract | £0 | £30/month |
BT 4G Home Hub | 300GB Data | 18 month contract | £0 | £40/month |
Vodafone GigaCube 4G | 200GB Data | 18 month contract | £0 | £40/month |
 BT 4G Home Hub | Unlimited Data Up to 15Mbps | 24 month contract | £0 | £47.41/month |
4GEE Home | Unlimited Data | 18 month contract | £0 | £50/month |
Vodafone GigaCube 4G | 300GB Data | 18 month contract | £0 | £50/month |
Vodafone GigaCube 5G | Unlimited Data | 18 month contract | £50 | £60/month |
For more information, read our in-depth reviews of BT’s 4G home broadband, 4GEE Home, 5GEE Home and Vodafone GigaCube.
Coverage & Availability
Three’s 5G home broadband service is currently available in selected postcodes across 400 UK towns and cities.
To see whether 5G broadband is available where you live, enter your postcode on Three’s broadband availability checker.
Check Three 5G Broadband Availability (three.co.uk) →
Once you’ve entered your postcode and selected your address, you’ll be told about the plans available where you live.
If 5G broadband isn’t yet available where you live, you might be offered a 4G home broadband plan instead with the 4G Hub or 4G Plus Hub router. Alternatively, you might be able to get 4G mobile broadband on the 4G Plus MiFi.
For more information, see our full guide to the coverage on Three.
Frequently Asked Questions
| How much does Three’s 5G home broadband cost? | Three’s 5G home broadband service is currently available on a choice of two plans:
Both plans come with unlimited data included and average download speeds of 100-200Mbps (dependent on your location). |
|---|---|
| What is Three’s 5G Hub router? | You’ll be supplied with Three’s 5G Hub router when you sign up for 5G home broadband. This is a plug-and-play device that connects to Three’s 5G network, broadcasting a wi-fi signal from it that your other devices can connect to.
The 5G Hub support download speeds of up to 4,700Mbps on 5G. It also supports Wi-Fi 6 connectivity (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) on up to 64 devices at the same time. It has 2 Gigabit Ethernet sockets, allowing you to connect wired devices to your home network. You can see more information about the 5G Hub on Three’s website. |
| How does 5G home broadband compare to fibre broadband? | Three’s 5G home broadband service offers average download speeds of 100-200Mbps. This is faster than the most widely available fibre broadband plans from other providers (with average download speeds of 50-67Mbps). However, it isn’t as fast as full fibre broadband.
One advantage of 5G home broadband is the fact you can get set up the next day without an engineer visit. You also have a lot more flexibility (e.g. with a short one-month rolling contract). The disadvantage of 5G home broadband is that it’s normally more expensive than fibre broadband. It can also be more susceptible to network congestion and interference, compared to a fibre connection. |
| Are there any download limits on Three’s 5G home broadband? | No. There are no download limits on Three’s 5G home broadband. However, they say they reserve the right to suspend your service or to apply traffic management to it if your usage “either exceeds that reasonably expected of someone using the Service or materially affects other users’ enjoyment of the Service, or has an adverse impact on our network”. |
| Can I get Three’s 5G home broadband where I live? | Three’s 5G home broadband service is now available in selected postcodes across 400 UK towns and cities. You can enter your address on Three’s website to see whether 5G broadband is available where you live. |
More Information
For more information about Three’s 5G home broadband, please see their official website.
You can also read our Three Broadband review and our guide to 5G home broadband in the UK.
William Elliott said:
I don’t know where you get your information from as I have been stuck with 3 broadband for 18 months now. It is a total let down especially at peak times. unless you use it throughout the night. If I was interested in this broadband of connection it certainly would not be 3 network of any kind. Customer services is no help either they talk funny in broken English in a way you do not understand and they are constantly fiddling with the mast where I live say geeks at work. They might well say idiots at work. Another thing is they are charging me for 5G when 5 g is not in my area. Do Not trust 3 network I would not be recommending 3 Network as it will only make you miserable angry and without any network to use. It won’t even run a Sky glass tv without making it a completely useless paperweight.
Steve said:
Very interested in this speaking as Virgin customer who has had enough of their in-built price increases.
The option to take this with me in my campervan is a bonus.
Currently right on the edge of the 5G service. (Literally yards when I zoom in on the map). If/when this extends, will I be offered a 5G router to replace the 4G I am currently being offered ?
Might I be able to get 5G were I to install an aerial.
Jack King said:
Hi Ken
I’ve just this last few days taken the plunge and have subscribed to 3 5G Home Broadband for two years, due mostly to indifferent phone line broadband performances at quite high costs. I took the option of the £10 per month for six months rising to £20 for the remainder of the subscription offer, received my Hub Router (different from the one you describe here) which is literally plug & play, and after finding the sweet spot in my small bungalow (next to a window in my living room) was amazed to get download speeds of up to 197 Mbps (variable slightly throughout the day). Uploads are not so great at around 7/10 Mbps, but I don’t do much of that anyway. VPNs come at reduced speeds, but still up to 90 meg downloads, so again a massive improvement.
I did have one little hic-up when the router lost the 5g network and reduced to 4g ( 30 Mbps download) for a couple of hours, but as I’m right on the extreme edge of the very best 5G service this is not unexpected and will probably continue periodically until the coverage extends and improves.
I can now enjoy the quite expensive streaming services with no dropouts or stuttering and recommend this to all who live in the right locations and who wish to dump the phone line completely.
Thanks Ken for all your invaluable help and advice over the past few years.
TrevorC said:
This looks very good for me, assuming I really can get 5g. I currently have Virgin cable which is an eye watering £55 a month. And I had to fight to get it down from £65. That’s just internet – no TV. So I don’t believe the advertised prices of internet providers. Unfortunately I cannot use any other provider as the regular phone line no longer works. Engineers spent two days trying to get it going, but it is an area wide problem and they gave up – and I am not way out in the country.
Can I use a dedicated home phone with this 5G system? I’ve heard of Voip, but know nothing about it. Can I just buy a Voip phone and connect it to the hub?
Steve replied:
Trevor …. I appreciate that this comment is a little old, however…
If you have a relatively modern, android smartphone it should have the capacity to make calls over WiFi. It’s within your phone settings and your carrier should be able to help you with this. Alternatively I’ll be happy to advise if you return here.
Effectively these would be free other than using data in your home internet allowance.
Rebecca said:
I am visiting a relative who does not have the internet for Christmas so I just want to pay for it for 1 month (less if possible) and maybe restart it in the future (if I go to stay there again etc.). Is that possible?
Ken replied:
Hi Rebecca,
Absolutely! You can just get it on a one-month rolling contract and cancel at any time. When you cancel, you’ll need to return the 5G router to Three. However, you can then sign up again at any time in the future.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Paul Ainscough said:
Hi Ken, love the website and advice. I have just renewed my 5G home package with Three, and they have sent me another 5G Hub – the Huawei CPE pro 2. I already had the Huawei CPE Pro 1. They said to keep both hubs. What I wanted to ask is – since the hubs are locked to Three, could a Smarty or ID mobile unlimited nano SIM work in the 5G hub, as they carry the Three network? Just trying to utilise the 2nd hub on the cheap! I find the range around the house on these hubs are quite poor, but when you are close they are 300+Mbps!
Alan said:
Hi guys;
It says £13/m and then after 6m going to £26/m also the minimum length of contract would be 12m but when click on the link , the 3 website shows £30/m with min contract of 24m
Ken replied:
Hi Alan,
When you’re on the Three website, choose the 5G Hub and then the ‘Device only’ option at the top. That will allow you to benefit from the exclusive price of £13/month for 6 months, then £26/month. The £30/month plan which is shown by default includes a Samsung Chromebook 4+ laptop as well.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Mark Hammond said:
Hi
I would like to set up 5G Home Broadband with 3. The reception is average at home and I feel an external aerial is necessary. Does anyone have experience of an aerial/router combination or an external router Huawei 5G CPE Win – Outdoor that is available to buy now? many thanks
James Buckley said:
Hi – the article says that “Your 5G Hub plays the same role as your fibre broadband router. You can still connect all of your devices to it”. Just to confirm please: I have computers and iPads that currently work very well on my current WiFi network. If I change to the Three 5G hub, will my current devices all connect to 5G without needing any additional dongles? Thanks.
Ken replied:
Hi James,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, all of your devices will be able to connect to Wi-Fi & to the internet in the same way as before – there’s no need for your individual devices to support 5G. The 5G mobile network connection simply replaces the fibre broadband connection (the “final mile” between your router and your device is still regular Wi-Fi).
Hope this helps,
Ken
Lin said:
I’ve been recommended the 5G Three Hub as my postcode indicated that I’m in a 5G area. However it is not picking up 5G inside my flat. I can only get the 5G if the hub is outside on the balcony which is not very practical. I dont know what else to do to improve this. Not sure if the 5G signal from Three wlll improve in the near future. It looks like I live on the periferals of the 5G coverage in the postcode area.
It picks up the 4G signal with speeds from 30-120 download and less than 8 for upload. Should I swap it out for their 4G hub which is cheaper but I don’t now if the speeds would be worse than what Im seeing with the 5G hub.
Ken replied:
Hi Lin,
Thanks for your comment. I guess you have three options here:
1. Consider investing in an external antenna. Given your able to get 5G on your balcony, this would suggest that you’d also be able to get 5G with an external antenna.
2. You can wait until the 5G signal gets a little stronger – your 5G Hub will be future proof and will give you 5G when this happens.
3. If you downgrade to the 4G Hub, this would give you a saving on your monthly bill. There shouldn’t be a negative impact on your 4G performance but check that Three definitely offers the 4G Hub in your area (I believe they only offer the 5G Hub if you’re in a 5G area).
Ken
Katie said:
Does anyone know which LG 4K tv model it comes with?
Eddy said:
Coming to this very late – April 2021 – as the Three offer has only just reached Watford. Any updates on reliability since its launch anyone?
David Webster replied:
Hi Eddy
I’ve had a Three Mobile Broadband Hub since July 7th, first bill came out of my account August 2nd. Since August 3rd: I am unable to connect to the hub with my personal phone and my work phone (it connects but says ‘Internet not available’ and my speeds have gone down from 300mbps to 70mpbs, sometimes far, far lower. Internet has cut out several times per day since the first bill has been paid. Almost impossible to get in touch with customer services. The one time I did they told me to reset the router, which works 30% of the time. Phones are able to connect connect for around an hour then have the same problem again.
Eddy replied:
Thanks for the info, David. Doesn’t sound that attractive, does it? But the issue has been settled for me – in the short to medium term, at least – because there is no 5G mast in the area yet. In short, the marketing was way ahead of the reality…
Lex said:
Hi there
Was seriously unimpressed by Three’s previous 4G effort (or Relish as it was before) – speed was 2.5MB or lower most of this year… until 5G arrived in this bit of east London in November! For 25 quid a month I’m now getting 250-480MB d/l speeds and up to about 50MB upload speeds – life changing for someone video editing at home. Hopefully the speed endures! For now: highly recommended on service and speed. This might be the most valuable use of 5G for now. Have scarcely noticed 5g on phone when out and about…
Jamie said:
I know a few people who have bought the Huawei router outright and had success using a smarty SIM card (cheaper than three but same service), they were offering unlimited for £18 and no contract.
Ken replied:
Hi Jamie,
Thanks for your comment. I agree this can be a good option if you’re looking for a flexible one-month SIM card for 4G home broadband (discussed in a bit more detail here). It does, however, only give you access to 4G. There’s also an £18/month SIM card from Three which gives you access to 5G as well, if it’s available where you live.
Ken
Michael said:
It really annoys me that companys are allowed to use the word unlimited and a fair usage policy in the same sentence. First of all unlimited MEANS NO LIMIT.
And three reserves the right to suspend your service if they think you are exceeding
the expected usage which contradicts the word unlimited. I have been with 3 for 14 years and am quite happy with the service but sometimes the speeds are a bit poor.
Also you say you say you will compare deals with other suppliers but only show bt which is more expensive and refer to other websites to check prices so you are not comparing them just bt. Virginmedia is £31 for 100mps and phone line for 12 months which is cheaper and with phone line and you do not need an engineer. I average between 300 to 800 GB per month I stream a lot from Netflix Amazon youtube and online tv. This is on my virgin connection at home, I also use about 200GB via tethering from 3 and virgin mobile in my car as I am a taxi driver and use a tablet. I have also spoke to three on Twitter and was told there is a fair usage policy of 1000GB which I agree is fair . But that’s what should be said then 1000GB limit not unlimited. And I dont want to hear anyone saying I’m greedy or people like me are the problem because if someone offers unlimited then that’s what you should get.
Daisy replied:
A few years ago i contacted ofcom about this when i complained about Tesco mobile using the word unlimited but then capping you on a fair usage policy, they told me that if mobile companies use the word unlimited it has to be truly unlimited and they made it law . so if 3 use the word unlimited they are breaking the law if they cap your usage no matter how much data you use and as people are streaming Netflix 4k, amazon prime and not to mention xbox and ps4 gaming your 1000gb is quite average now for most households.
Alex said:
G,
Three stores are now selling 5G Broadband in those selected area’s. I recommend going online & checking your availability, then ordering via the website. 👌🏻
Vijay Kumar said:
Hey Ken, thanks for the great site.
Andy, I have a question about 5G coverage in Manchester when it arrives in November sometime. Will it cover greater Manchester (including outlying areas like Trafford) or just the city of Manchester initially? I am particularly interested in M33 area of Manchester.
Thanks!
Ken replied:
Hi Vijay,
Thanks for your comment. That’s a great question! I’m not sure, to be honest. What you’ve seen with the launch of Three’s 5G service in London is they’ve initially launched it only in selected parts of the city. I imagine a similar thing will happen when they roll out in Manchester, but that coverage will slowly expand over time. So hopefully you’ll get 5G coverage soon in your area, but keep a close eye on the coverage maps later this year to check.
Ken
Vijay replied:
Thanks Ken. That’s how 4g was rolled out. I have got mixed response from Three. Store said the whole of Manchester will be covered from day one, both for broadband and phone, but their online chat suggested that Trafford might just be outside of the initial coverage. I will have to wait and see.
Alex replied:
Vijay,
Keep an eye on Three’s plans (I have a friend who works for Three). I’ve been informed that November through to the end of the year is when things will get exciting! 😁😏
Vijay replied:
Have you heard anymore Ken, about 5g roll out outside of London? It seems the outage Theee had a few weeks back might have been related to 5g infrastructure setup? Wonder if your friend who works with Three have any inside track on the latest news/plans for 5g broadband and/or phone coverage in Greater Manchester? Are we still looking at end December or is it going to be beyond? Thanks for any updates.
Ken replied:
Hi Vijay,
Unfortunately, I believe Three recently announced a delay to their launch date for 5G to Q1 2020. Besides that, I haven’t heard anything further, though others are welcome to add if they’ve heard any news!
Ken
Andy said:
I live right between Vauxhall and Camberwell and thought I’d see what the service is like. I got my 5G hub last night and going to test it for a couple of weeks before deciding whether to return it or cancel my TalkTalk phone/broadband package altogether. First impressions are positive. Being a ‘connected home’ I have a mix of 24 wireless/wired devices connected and they are all plying nicely.
The hub itself definitely perks up being near a window, and the instructions are very clear that a windowsill is the preferred location. Initially trying it where the existing router sits was not great at all but by the window – and actually a better position, not needing to be near the master socket – it seems very happy.
Speeds are pretty variable, running an hourly speedtest over two evenings, my lowest download speed was 97.7Mbps and the highest so far 397Mbps. Three tell me the average should be 200 for my postcode. Upload is consistently around 20Mbps. If this continues over the next 12 days I’ll be keeping it and cutting the broadband cord.
Definitely worth a trial given there’s a 14 day return period once it’s available in your area.
Ken replied:
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your feedback – it sounds like some really impressive download speeds there!
Ken
CJ replied:
Appreciate your post and wonder how your getting on with almost 6 months usage. What device did you get? I don’t want to get a 4g device to find 5g arrived in months time for London. Often in North America but unsure most are dual compatible even if unlocked (+ separate US 5g rollout). Thanks
BRM said:
Hi Ken – Thanks for the great site, best research i’ve found on this topic. I’m currently looking to change my setup from standard broadband but can’t get fibre at my address (London zone3!), so I’m looking at 4G or 5G home broadband. Looking at coverage maps I can’t currently get 5G, but I expect this should be available soon. Is there a router I could buy or contract I could sign up to that will enable me to use 4G straight away and then 5G as soon as it becomes available (without changing the hardware)? Thanks
Ken replied:
Hi there,
Thanks for your comment and a very good question! Sadly, I don’t think it’s currently possible to buy a 5G router on a SIM-free/unlocked basis. Also, Three won’t sell you a 5G router if you don’t currently live within a 5G coverage area. One potential alternative would be to sign up for Vodafone GigaCube. Unlike Three, I don’t believe they’ll stop you from buying the 5G router if you’re living in an area that only has 4G. However, the service tends to be more expensive (£50/month if you’re looking for an unlimited data allowance).
Ken
Alex replied:
BRM, why not look at purchasing a Unlocked 5G hub from Amazon?
Ken replied:
Hi Alex,
Do you know of any unlocked 5G hubs that are available for purchase on Amazon? I’ve just seen that the Huawei 5G CPE Pro has appeared on Amazon. It’s listed at £399.99 but is currently out of stock.
Ken
Mike said:
Also I see you mention Vodafone as an alternative at various price points and data limits but their website is offering unlimited data (4g and 5g) at £23 to £30 pounds depending on speed requirements.
Why would vodafone be offering a better deal at lower costs.
All sounds confusing to me.
Ken replied:
Hi Mike,
That’s a great question! So, Vodafone are offering unlimited data SIM cards but this comes without a device. Similarly, Three also offers an unlimited data SIM card from £20/month without a device.
If you like, you can buy your own 4G router to use the SIM cards with (e.g. the Huawei B525 which is available for around £130).
Vodafone offers a 5G home broadband router in the form of the Vodafone GigaCube 5G, but you’ll need to pay £50/month for unlimited data on this.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Mike said:
Hi Ken,
Great article as always.
It all appeared too good to be true until I saw their acceptable usage policy.
It appears this is now totally at their discretion with no clear guideline on what usage levels may be deemed excessive by them.
Previously they clearly stated a usage of up to 1TB a month and then their traffic management may or may not flag the usage as excessive or possibly commercial.
With this new policy it could be anything from 100gb a month to God knows what.
It’s entirely at their discretion.
Any idea what would be deemed excessive by them under this new policy?
Ken replied:
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, I don’t have any idea of what this “acceptable usage policy” corresponds to. Given it’s such a new service, I imagine we’ll need to wait for some real user feedback on it. You can probably use the 1,000GB (1TB) figure as an initial estimate/lower bound of what they might consider acceptable usage to be. Even though this policy doesn’t apply to the 5G home broadband service, I’d be very surprised if they had more stringent restrictions on 5G broadband compared to 4G home broadband…
Ken
G said:
This sounded great, so I called Three to order right away. First person I spoke to had never heard of this offering, and transferred me to someone else. This person told me that the new 5G router offering is not available yet and cannot be ordered. I was told to register my interest on the website instead.
Ken replied:
Hi G,
5G Home only launched this morning so I imagine a lot of staff at Three are still yet to read the memo on it! At the moment, it’s only available in selected parts of London, so I’d recommend checking availability in your area online and ordering your home broadband package from there if it’s available where you live.
Ken
G replied:
Thanks, I tried a second time over the phone and got through to someone who knew about the product’s existence. However I was told this time that it couldn’t be ordered over the phone, and that I should visit one of their stores to order it.