O2 has waited until the very tail end of the year to announce it has switched on 5G in 13 new locations, sneaking in its promise that it would launch 5G in a total of 20 places by the end of 2019. EE recently also announced extra locations to fulfil its promise for 2019 coverage, too. 

The new locations - which have presumably been live for a while - are  Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bradford, Sheffield, Coventry, Nottingham, Norwich, Bristol, Derby and Stoke.

O2 originally launched its 5G service in October in the UK capital cities - London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast as well as Leeds and Slough where O2 has its main offices. 

Like others, O2 is offering access to 5G at no extra cost, though naturally you'll need a 5G handset to take avantage of 5G speeds. O2 is also offering its Limitless tariff on 5G with  unlimited data and its existing roster of custom plans. 

O2 says it will also expand its network further in the new year in Windsor, Eton, Reading, Blackpool, Bournemouth, and Guildford. 

The network says it is also continuing to invest in the 4G network, with £2m invested a day in strengthening the core network as the foundation for 5G and bringing 4G to more areas - 4G is still the way many of us will connect to networks for some time to come, especially in rural areas.