EE has launched its 5G Standalone (5G SA) network in the UK.

In doing so, the telco becomes the third carrier in the country to launch 5G SA following Vodafone and Virgin Media O2.

However, unlike Vodafone and Virgin Media O2, EE is charging a premium for its 5G SA service.

EE has pushed the service live in 15 cities; Bath, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Sheffield.

The telco was the first carrier in the UK to launch its 5G network in May 2019, but notes that with 5G Standalone, a network that is not reliant on older mobile generations and solely uses a 5G core network, it will be better equipped to embrace AI.

“Today, EE is launching UK firsts in network capabilities designed to unleash the huge potential of a wave of AI powered devices," said Marc Allera, CEO of EE.

“5G standalone is a new mobile network giving enhanced performance to customers from day one and unlocks game-changing new services of the future. It’s been built to handle the growing range of AI-powered devices, from smartphones to laptops, tablets, and more."

The company said its 5G SA utilizes the latest AI technology, which can enable automation to improve reliability and machine learning to reduce energy demand on the grid, by putting mobile cells into sleep mode when not being used.

Vodafone was the first carrier in the UK to launch 5G SA, switching the service on in some parts of the country in June 2023.

Virgin Media O2 launched its 5G SA network in February across 14 cities.