BT launches 5G smartphone plans for consumers and businesses

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a BT logo outside of offices in the City of London, Britain, January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's BT will launch 5G services in more than 20 towns and cities on Friday, offering its consumer and business customers its fastest connections across both fixed line and mobile.

BT's mobile brand EE, the market leader, switched on Britain's first commercial 5G services in May. Rival Vodafone followed with its own network in July.

BT said business customers and consumers signed up to broadband and mobile package BT Plus would be the first to be offered 5G, which will require a handset from a range including the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, OnePlus 7 Pro and Huawei Mate 20.

FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside an EE mobile phone shop in Manchester, Britain September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

The company said on Wednesday it would launch a new bundled product called Halo next month that will offer unlimited data and calls on mobile and fixed lines.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)