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Wembley Stadium has become the first sports venue in the UK with its own permanent 5G Standalone network, following a major overhaul from BT-owned mobile operator EE. The new superfast technology will make its debut during the England Women's UEFA Nations League match against Spain on February 26, 2025.
EE announced its upgraded 5G network in September last year, flipping a switch to enable the upgraded sigal in the four UK capitals and a number of other metropolitan areas. The new mobile network standard, known as 5G Standalone or 5GSA, will unlock faster download speeds, better signal indoors, and improvements to battery life on their smartphones and tablets.
At the time, SIM-only plans for the next-generation 5G Standalone network cost £42 a month. However, the latest EE sale has reduced that to just £27 — saving you £360 and unlocking the latest speeds, reliability, and battery life boost.
Save £360 in EE sale when you upgrade to EE 5G standalone with Netflix + EU roaming at no cost
To unlock access to EE's 5G Standalone network, you'll need to upgrade to a new SIM card. EE offers unlimited mobile data for your Apple Watch or other smartwatch, a speedy VIP connection when the network is busy, and no additional charges when roaming in the EU with its 5GSA plans. You can also pick an extra, like a Netflix subscription, or Google One Premium 2TB plan — saving £360 with this limited time offer
EE 5GSA
$42
$27
As it stands, EE customers' devices bounce between 5G and 4G, depending on the coverage. As the name suggests, EE 5GSA is a completely separate network that uses the latest 5G wireless standard end-to-end.
5G Standalone removes any older 4G architecture from the mobile network, creating an entirely-new signal that only those with a compatible 5GSA smartphone and SIM can access
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It's the consistency of this new connection that will improve battery life, since there's no need for your smartphone to switch between 4G and 5G networks in the background throughout the day. By stripping out older 4G architecture entirely from its new EE 5GSA network, you'll be able to expect better consistency in mobile download speeds as you move from outdoors to indoors.
At the same event, EE unveiled its first Wi-Fi 7-enabled broadband routers, the fastest of any major broadband supplier in the UK and technology that rival suppliers like Vodafone are reportedly racing to match.
EE's next-generation standalone 5G network now covers more than 21 million people across the UK — approximately one-third of the population.
The introduction of the 5GSA to Wembley Stadium puts the national stadium ahead of other major venues including Twickenham, the Principality Stadium and Wimbledon in the race for next-generation mobile connectivity.
EE customers attending events at the 90,000-capacity stadium will benefit from faster mobile internet speeds and more reliable connectivity, even during sold-out events. To access the enhanced network, customers will need a newer EE SIM card that supports 5G standalone technology.
EE says its included the underlying technology in its SIM cards for some time, so if you've recently upgraded to a newer plan, it's possible you won't need to request a new one. Of course, compatible handsets with eSIM will be able to jump over to the new standalone 5G network immediately.
90,000 football fans will put the new 5GSA network through its paces during the England Women's UEFA Nations League match against Spain on February 26
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"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.
The upgrade is part of EE's renewed multi-year partnership with Wembley Stadium to maintain its position as one of the world's best-connected venues.
Industry analyst Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight highlighted the importance of mobile connectivity at major events, noting that "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," he said. "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."
EE's revved-up new network has already been deployed in more than 30 locations nationwide, including major cities like London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff. The most expansion covered areas such as Ashton-Under-Lyne, Barry, Bath, and Birkenhead.
EE has committed to delivering at least 95% outdoor coverage in every town or city where it confirms plans to launch 5G standalone, so if your local area is supported by the new standard, you're sure to unlock the most reliable and consistent experience across the network.
EE has said it believes the technology will be the backbone of future services, as its better performance would be well placed to handle the growing number of AI-powered services, many of which require more energy and bandwidth to run smoothly.
The operator said customers could also see improvements in their phone’s battery life because of the improved energy efficiency of the network.
EE has confirmed the next 16 towns and cities across the UK set to be upgraded to the speedier, more efficient 5G Standalone network
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At the launch event, EE boss Marc Allera said the new network had been "designed to unleash the huge potential of a wave of AI-powered devices."
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"5G standalone is a new mobile network giving enhanced performance to customers from day one and unlocks game-changing new services of the future," he said. "It’s been built to handle the growing range of AI-powered devices, from smartphones to laptops, tablets and more."
EE has rebuilt its network from the ground-up to offer improved speed, better reliability, and efficiency gains. It comes a few weeks after it debuted the fastest Wi-Fi router from any nationwide provider
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Prices for SIM-only plans compatible with the next-generation 5GSA standard start from £27 per month.
For that, you'll get the Unlimited All-Rounder bundle. This comes with:
- Unlimited data allowance — so you'll never need to worry about running out of 5G data when streaming video, games, or songs
- Smartwatch data included, something that usually costs an extra £7 every month
- EU roaming at no extra cost — something that EE ditched from all of its new SIM-only plans three years ago
- 1x Inclusive Extra of your choice
These perks include the likes of a Netflix subscription or Google One. If you're already with EE for your home broadband, including its record-breaking new Wi-Fi 7 packages, you'll unlock £20 off bills every month.
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