Three switches on 5G in staycation hotspots

5G switched on in 86 new locations including tourist hotspots of Dartmouth, Milford on Sea, Aberystwyth, Holywood and Irvine.

As the staycations season hots up and temperatures are set to reach new highs, Three UK announces the switch on of superfast 5G in 86 new areas including rural and coastal locations across the UK like Dartmouth, Milford on Sea, Aberystwyth, Holywood and Irvine. These join hotspots such as Brighton, Blackpool, Edinburgh, Bangor and more that already benefit from 5G connectivity.

The news comes as Three publishes ‘Appy Holidays, a new report conducted by consultancy Development Economics, showing that good connectivity is proven to be a boost for tourist businesses, with a quarter (24%) of people saying they would likely spend more when mobile phone reception is excellent due to the ability to read reviews and make bookings or online purchases. Over half (58%) of Brits who go on holiday would be less likely to choose accommodation with poor mobile phone network coverage, while two-fifths (42%) would decide not to visit a place to eat or activity for the same reason.

All told, good connectivity contributes to £3.4 billion per year in new revenue for British tourist businesses – a knock-on boost to the economy of £1.97 billion in gross value added (GVA).

The research comes as Three UK reveals it has been named the UK’s fastest 5G network in H1 for the third time in a row with a Speed Score™ of 248.16, 84.37% faster than the nearest competitor.

It follows its ongoing £2bn+ investment in network technology which has doubled the number of 5G sites in the last year to 3,200. Since the start of 2022, 5G has been rolled out to 86 new areas including

North Devon, Torbay and Great Yarmouth are just some of the areas that see a particular benefit from tourists using their mobiles to plan and enjoy holidays. In 2019 – the last pre-pandemic year on record – Three’s report reveals that £28.4 million of visitor expenditure was ‘safeguarded’ by mobile in these places combined.