How BT plans to double 5G speeds in these major UK cities
Key Points
- BT is deploying ARC technology across six EURO 2028 host cities, targeting a 20% average speed boost with potential to more than double performance under ideal conditions
- ARC allows nearby mobile masts to share spare capacity in real time, eliminating the need for new infrastructure
- London and Manchester are already live, with Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff and Newcastle to follow by end of May 2026
- Customers with 5G compatible devices will see the largest speed gains automatically, with no action required
- The upgrade is permanent, meaning residents benefit long after the tournament ends
BT is rolling out network technology across six major UK cities that could more than double mobile speeds by the time UEFA EURO 2028 kicks off, with fans in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff, and Newcastle set to benefit first.
The technology behind the upgrade is Advanced RAN Coordination (ARC), developed in partnership with Ericsson.
Rather than building new masts, ARC allows nearby mobile sites to dynamically pair and share spare capacity in real time.
The result is faster, more reliable connectivity in dense urban areas without the cost or disruption of deploying additional radio equipment.
BT is the first network in the world to deploy ARC in a distributed mobile network, a claim backed by Ericsson’s own announcement at launch.
The technology first went live in Manchester and Edinburgh in September 2025, with London joining the rollout last week.
What the speed gains actually look like
On average, ARC delivers a 20% increase in download speeds.
Under ideal conditions, the gains are substantially larger, with performance capable of more than doubling compared to standard 5G, the group told HotMinute.
In practical terms, that translates to smoother video streaming, faster loading in crowded areas, and more consistent performance at peak times in places like train stations, city centres, and high streets.
The biggest beneficiaries are customers on 5G compatible devices. These handsets can tap into multiple 5G frequency bands simultaneously, which amplifies the gains that ARC’s capacity-sharing approach unlocks.
BT’s rollout timeline aligns directly with UEFA EURO 2028, which England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will co-host.
All six UK host cities sit within BT’s confirmed ARC expansion plan. The network is already live in London and Manchester, with Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff, and Newcastle to follow before the tournament begins.
The upgrade is designed to handle matchday surges, when tens of thousands of fans in and around stadiums simultaneously stream video, share content and use data-intensive apps.
Network congestion at major sporting events has historically been a pain point for UK operators, and ARC’s capacity-sharing model is specifically suited to exactly those conditions.
Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, and Newcastle are next
BT Group’s broader infrastructure programme underpins the deployment.
The group’s fibre connections between cell sites operate at under half a millisecond of latency, which is the low-latency backhaul that makes real-time coordination between ARC-paired sites possible in the first place.
The speed improvements are not limited to matchdays. BT has confirmed that the ARC rollout is part of its permanent network investment, meaning residents and businesses in host cities will retain the performance gains long after the tournament ends.
For the roughly 50 million people already on EE’s 5G network, the upgrade is automatic.
No action is required to benefit, though customers with newer 5G compatible handsets on BT’s 5G plans will see the largest improvements.
With Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, and Newcastle due to receive ARC coverage by the end of May 2026, the window for the upgrade to embed before EURO 2028 is comfortably achievable, giving BT time to validate performance before the tournament’s opening matches.
