Virgin Media O2 has launched its 5G+ service across Northern Ireland.

It means that the mobile operator's 5G Standalone (5G SA) coverage is now live across five cities, 22 large towns and 382 smaller towns, villages, and hamlets across Northern Ireland.

The rollout forms part of Virgin Media's £700 million ($944m) investment in its UK network this year.

According to the telco, the launch of its 5G+ network is available to more than 800,000 residents in the country, including across major cities such as Belfast, Derry, Lisburn, and Armagh, plus smaller towns and villages, such as Ballycastle and Portrush.

The arrival of its 5G SA network in Northern Ireland follows that of its launch in Wales in May 2026. At that time, the carrier said its 5G SA network covers 90 percent of the UK's population.

“This upgrade marks another major milestone in the evolution of our network," said Professor Robert Joyce, director of mobile access engineering at O2.

"By extending 5G+ coverage across all six counties of Northern Ireland, we’re enabling more people to benefit from faster speeds, lower latency and a more reliable mobile experience.”

Virgin Media O2 launched its 5G SA network in February 2024. The telco's 5G+ network is not reliant on older mobile generations such as 4G - it solely uses a 5G core network - and is based on the cloud.

The service increases network capacity, cuts latency, and can connect to an increased number of connected devices.