5G SIM only for business

What a 5G SIM only plan gives a business

5G is the newest generation of mobile network. The networks describe it as giving faster, more responsive mobile data with more capacity than earlier generations, where you have coverage and a compatible device. For a business, that tends to matter in a few places:

• Video calls on the move: more headroom for video meetings away from the office
• Large files: sending and receiving drawings, photos and documents from site
• Busy locations: extra capacity in places where lots of people use mobile data at once
• Hotspotting: laptops connected to a phone get the benefit when the phone is on 5G
• Data-only devices: tablets and routers on a business data only SIM can use 5G too

A 5G SIM only plan does not change the basics of business SIM only plans. You still choose voice or data SIMs, individual or shared data, and a term. 5G is about the network the SIM can use, not the allowance on it. If your staff will use a lot of 5G data, our guide to the unlimited data business SIM covers fair use and roaming terms.

What you need to get 5G

All of these have to line up before anyone on your team sees 5G:

1. A plan that includes 5G: EE Business, Three Business, O2 Business and Vodafone Business all describe 5G on their business SIM only plans, and what is included for your lines is confirmed at quote
2. A 5G-capable device: the phone, tablet or router must support 5G and the frequencies the network uses
3. 5G coverage where you work: at your offices, sites and the routes your people travel, indoors as well as outdoors

If any one of those is missing, the device uses the network's 4G service instead. That is why a 5G plan on its own is not a reason to switch: it is the coverage where your people are that decides it.

Checking 5G coverage

Each network publishes its own coverage checker, and it is worth checking every location that matters before you choose. A few tips:

• Check every site, not just head office: warehouses, branches, customer sites and staff home postcodes if people work from home
• Look at indoor and outdoor coverage: coverage maps often distinguish between the two, and indoor signal is what most staff rely on
• Check the routes: for drivers and field staff, the roads they use matter as much as the destinations
• Compare 5G and 4G layers: an area with good 4G but patchy 5G may still work well day to day
• Ask your team: people already know where signal drops out today

Coverage maps are predictions. If a site is critical, a trial SIM or a test with an existing device on that network can settle the question. Our guide to business SIM only networks explains how to approach the choice without assuming one network suits every location.

5G and older phones

You do not need to replace every phone to move to a 5G SIM only plan. A SIM on a 5G plan will generally still work in a phone that only supports 4G; that phone simply uses the network's 4G service. As phones are replaced over time with 5G-capable models, those users start to get 5G where it is available.

That makes SIM only a sensible way to adopt 5G gradually. You keep the phones you own, move the airtime onto a plan that includes 5G, and replace devices on your own schedule. Our guide to buying business phones separately explains the approach.

If a phone is locked to its current network, it will need unlocking before it works on a different one. Check the specification of each device you plan to keep to see whether it supports 5G.

5G Standalone

5G comes in two forms. With non-standalone 5G, the radio signal is 5G but it runs alongside the network's existing 4G core. 5G Standalone (5G SA) uses a dedicated 5G core network, which is designed to bring further improvements in responsiveness and new capabilities over time. Using it can depend on the device and the plan as well as the coverage.

Each network publishes its own 5G Standalone plans, and what is live in a given area changes as the networks build. Rollout plans describe the future, not coverage you can rely on today, so the coverage checker for your own sites is the better guide.

For most businesses choosing a SIM only plan now, the practical question is still the coverage where your people work today. 5G SA is a reason to make sure new devices you buy support it, not a reason to delay a switch.

5G on the networks we supply

We supply business SIM only plans on EE Business and Three Business, and we can also supply O2 Business and Vodafone Business. Each has its own 5G rollout:

EE Business

EE Business describes 5G and 5G+ speeds on its business SIM only page, and says its plans for medium and large businesses include 5G or 5G+. See EE Business SIM only plans.

Three Business

Three Business SIMs are 5G-ready: you can use 5G where Three has 5G coverage and your device supports it, and any Three SIM, including an eSIM, supports 5G in a 5G-compatible device. Three's business coverage checker shows 4G and 5G coverage at your postcode. See Three Business SIM only.

O2 Business

O2 Business's own SIM only plan page refers to access to its 4G and 5G networks. We can also supply SIM only plans on the O2 Business network, with 5G access for your lines confirmed at quote. See O2 Business SIM only plans.

Vodafone Business

Vodafone Business says 5G is included in all of its own SIM only plans. We can also supply SIM only plans on the Vodafone Business network, with 5G access for your lines confirmed at quote. See Vodafone Business SIM only.

5G for routers and business broadband

A 5G data SIM can also power a router, for a temporary site, as backup to a fixed line or where fixed broadband is slow. If you already have a suitable unlocked router, a data SIM on its own may be all you need; see mobile broadband SIM only.

If you need the router and a complete 5G business broadband service, that is covered on our sister site for business mobile, 5G broadband and routers.

How we help

Moving to 5G SIM only is mostly about checking the details first. We can:

• Check coverage with you: run your sites and routes through each network's coverage checker
• List your devices: work out which phones and routers support 5G and which will use 4G for now
• Quote across networks: EE Business and Three Business, plus O2 Business and Vodafone Business
• Size the data: 5G makes heavy use easier, so we look at whether unlimited or shared data makes sense
• Switch with your numbers: move lines across with PAC codes at a time that suits you

Ask us for a quote. Contact us with your locations and the number of lines.