British telco giant BT expects to launch 5G standalone — or 'true' 5G — later this year

Ryan Browne - CNBC - 01/03
"We are working to get the right ecosystem in place, which means the right set of devices," its CTO said in an interview with CNBC at the Mobile World Congress.

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An EE mobile phone store, operated by BT Group, in Reading, U.K. in 2020.
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BARCELONA — British telecommunications giant BT says it expects to launch its first so-called "standalone 5G" network in 2024.

Howard Watson, BT's chief technology officer, told CNBC that the telco group plans to switch on its standalone 5G network, which is often referred to in the industry as "true" 5G, later this year.

"Others are talking about it. They're talking about it. But we are working to get the right ecosystem in place, which means the right set of devices," Watson said in an interview with CNBC at the Mobile World Congress tech trade show in Barcelona.

Th...
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