O2 invites FTSE 500 to trial its 5G

O2 has invited every single company listed on the FTSE 100 to participate in its trials of 5G technology.

The first organisation to take advantage is Sky, which has also extended its agreement with O2 to power the broadcaster’s Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Sky Mobile.

O2 has been a vocal proponent of the benefits of 5G and claims its use could save local councils and households £6 billion a year. It plans to launch a 5G testbed at the O2 arena later this year using the 3.4GHz spectrum it won at the Ofcom auction.

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O2 5G plans

The Telefonica-owned operator has performed well since its failed merger with Three and added 100,000 new customers during the first half of 2018 with revenue up 4.2 per cent.

Revenue has grown for the seventh consecutive quarter thanks to an increase in consumer spend driven by RPI increases, rising handset income, wholesale revenue and non-mobile revenues which have offset regulatory impacts. Q2 revenue was up 5.6 per cent to €1.6 billion.

O2 CEO Mark Evans has attributed the strong performance to a £2 billion network investmand and its customer-centric strategy.

“The backbone for our ongoing success is our award winning network supported by unprecedented levels of investment of £2 billion over the last two years,” he declared. “This has helped boost network coverage and reliability while preparing the ground for 5G. We are rolling out the new 4G airwaves we acquired in April as fast as we can so that customers right across the UK can benefit from these investments as soon as possible.”

The Telefonica Group recorded Q2 revenues of €12.1 billion, a fall of 6.1 per cent, and profits of €902 million.