3 UK outlined continued heavy investment in its 5G rollout as it provided an update on a £2 billion move to transform its infrastructure, in addition to boosting its 4G offering with 1400MHz spectrum.

The operator explained it added the frequency to more than 1,900 sites, which it claimed will increase download speeds by up to three-times for customers with a compatible device.

It added more than 1,300 sites now featured 5G, as it pushes ahead with a five year programme to establish itself as the country’s next-generation leader. It has also upgraded 3,500 sites handle data rates of 10Gb/s, to provide customers with more reliable 4G and 5G experiences.

The company also pointed to the country’s recent auction, when it won two 10MHz blocks of low frequency spectrum, which coupled with the “UK’s largest 5G spectrum holding”, put it in a strong position for the future.

CTO David Hennessy said despite unprecedented challenges of the global Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic “our 5G and 4G rollout is going strong and we’re making sure our customer remains at the centre of every decision we make”.

It added an anti-spam filter introduced in late 2020 to block spam and fraudulent SMS had led to a more than 90 per cent reduction in spam reports from its customers.

Separately, sister company 3 Ireland joined a new Ericsson 5G initiative aimed at introducing service providers to technology partners as part of a programme to develop consumer use cases.

The operator is the first to join the Startup 5G initiative, giving it access to Ericsson’s ConsumerLab research and analytical data, along with a worldwide network of start-ups.