Tesco Mobile's 5G network is here, but you'll need a specific contract to get it

Samsung Galaxy A90 5G
The Samsung Galaxy A90 5G, which Tesco is now offering on its 5G contracts (Image credit: TechRadar)

Tesco Mobile is the latest UK network to turn on its 5G coverage around the country, but if you're a current customer it's unlikely you'll be able to make the most of the next-gen internet tech right away.

To be able to use Tesco Mobile 5G, you'll need a specific SIM card that is ready for 5G and it's likely to be more expensive than your current phone deal.

You'll also need a 5G-ready device that is compatible with the technology as well as live in an area where it has 5G turned on. There are currently 24 cities with Tesco Mobile 5G switched on, and we've listed them all below.

Those locations are Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Lisburn, Liverpool, London, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Sheffield, Slough and Stoke-on-Trent.

We've yet to hear where Tesco Mobile will next be offering its 5G coverage, but the company has said it'll be rolling out coverage to new cities "all the time". 

Tesco Mobile uses O2's mobile network for its coverage. That means it's a very similar list of cities that can get 5G on both these providers, although Tesco now offers three more locations than O2.

How much is it going to cost you to get 5G on Tesco Mobile? That depends what sort of contract you'll be looking for. If you want a SIM only contract, the lowest 5G price is £15 a month with 5GB of data and a 12 month contract.

The maximum data you can get is 100GB, and that is set to cost you £30 a month for a year long contract. 

The network is also offering one month contracts that cost £5 more each month than the year long price. All SIM only contracts come with 5000 minutes and the same amount of texts.

Tesco Mobile is also already selling the Samsung Galaxy A90 5G and Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus, both from 2019, to use on the networks. The former costs £29.99 a month with 5GB of data and the latter is £46.99 a month with the same amount of internet. 

Soon, the network will also offer the Samsung Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus and Galaxy S20 Ultra that are all 5G compatible. If you're happy with 5GB of data, the S20 will cost £38.49 a month, the S20 Plus will be £44.99 a month and the Ultra will cost £52.49.

You can see the full current range of Tesco Mobile 5G deals here, and we expect to see the Galaxy S20 range land on the network on March 13 when Samsung releases those three devices in the UK.

James Peckham

James is the Editor-in-Chief at Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.

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