EE will switch on its 5G service in six UK cities in May.
People in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham and Manchester will be the first to access 5G in the UK on 30th May, with plans for 10 more cities to be added this year.
EE have beaten rival Vodafone to launching 5G as they plan to activate the network in July.
“This is the start of the UK’s 5G journey and great news for our customers that want and need the best connections,” said Marc Allera, chief executive of BT’s consumer division, which owns EE.
It admits that this is just phase one of its roll-out, with “full next-generation 5G” not available until 2022.
The mobile operator has also signed an exclusive deal with Niantic, the makers of Pokemon Go, to carry its augmented reality game Harry Potter: Wizards United game when it launches in the UK in the summer.
Matthew Howett, a mobile analyst with research firm Assembly, added: “To convince consumers to make the leap from 4G to 5G, it’s important to communicate that it’s more than just about speed.
“While peak download speeds will be faster, crucially there will be more capacity, which will allow for a whole host of new applications and services.”
EE is planning to add 100 new 5G sites each month, which will gradually bring coverage to Bristol, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Hull, Leeds and Newcastle.
Ten more towns and cities will get services in 2020, including Aberdeen, Cambridge, Derby, Gloucester, Peterborough, Plymouth and Portsmouth.