GLASGOW has been chosen to be one of the first seven cities to get ac c e s s t o a 5 G net work with Vodafone announcing yesterday that it will go live with 5G from July 3.

The company stated that it will launch 5G in Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Liver - pool and London, for both consum - ers and businesses. Competitors such as EE are also expected to launch 5G this summer.

Compared to today’s networks which use 4G and 3G technology, 5G is set to be much faster and more reliable, with greater capacity and lower response times.

Users of the service will require a 5G compatible smartphone or router.

Prices are expected to be around the same as current 4G deals.

Vodafone is claiming a world first as it will offer 5G roaming in four countries over the summer – Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

The benefits of 5G have been much trumpeted. It can sometimes take nearly a day to download a film on 3G, but with 5G it could take less than 40 seconds.

Vodafone intends to use equipment from the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, among others, although the UK Government is still considering Huawei’s place in the 5G develop - ments. A Cabinet leak revealed last month that Huawei was to be allowed involvement.

Vodafone UK chief executive Nick Jeffrey said: “We started our 5G journey more than three years ago.

We led the way in setting 5G stand - ards to ensure phones and networks work well together.

“We upgraded our masts to be able to take 5G without disruption and we were the first UK company to test 5G over our all-fibre core fixed and mo - bile network.

“This is important. It means we can today announce the largest launch of 5G in the UK and be the first to an - nounce 5G roaming. It means that UK businesses can lead the world in adopting 5G to boost productivity and attract investment.

“It also means consumers can get the fastest mobile speeds ever and that our public sector will be able to adopt new services to improve healthcare, social services and housing.”