BBC live broadcast over 5G network cuts out due to technical problems

Telegraph Reporters
5G stock image - Anadolu
5G stock image - Anadolu

The UK launch of 5G on Thursday got off to a bumpy start when a live BBC broadcast over the network failed.

BBC's Clive Myrie was talking to a reporter in London’s Covent Garden about the launch of the next generation mobile technology.

However, while using the 5G network to broadcast live, the feed cut out due to technical problems.

“I'll have to interrupt you because bizarrely the 5G line isn't working properly,” the presenter said.

Earlier in the day, the BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones was able to broadcast in high definition using 5G.

The broadcast was made to mark the launch of the UK’s first high-speed 5G network by EE.

EE, which is a division of British telecoms giant BT, has launched 5G in six major cities comprising Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London and Manchester - and more hubs will follow, it said in a statement.

Next-generation 5G mobile networks offer almost instantaneous data transfer that will become the nervous system of Europe's economy in strategic sectors like energy, transport, banking and health care.

EE announced last week that it would make its 5G network available to the public - but would not sell Huawei's first 5G phone, the Mate 20 X 5G.

However, the Chinese company still provides 5G wireless network infrastructure equipment to EE.

Rival British mobile phone giant Vodafone will launch its own 5G services on July 3 in seven UK cities - but it has also paused the sale of the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G smartphone.

Huawei faces pushback in some Western markets over fears that Beijing could spy on communications and gain access to critical infrastructure if allowed to develop foreign 5G networks offering instantaneous mobile data transfer.

The Chinese company denies the speculation.

US internet titan Google has meanwhile started to cut ties between its Android operating system and Huawei, a move that affects hundreds of millions of smartphone users.

That decision comes amid a trade war between the US and China.