Vodafone Launches 5G in Germany

 

Vodafone, which has already introduced limited 5G services in its British home market, is switching on 5G antennae in 20 German towns and cities - a figure that Deutsche Telekom only expects to reach next year. 

 

It will offer new 5G offers for smartphone users initiating at 14.99 euros per month for the first year. Its infinite 5G data plan is priced at 80 euros, lower than Deutsche Telekom's own deal at 85 euros. 'We are democratising 5G,' Vodafone's Germany chief Hannes Ametsreiter said in a statement. 'With us, 5G isn't just a technology only for high earners.'

 

Networks conducting on 5G provide noticeably faster download speeds when compared with existing 4G services, while latency - or reaction time - is reduced to milliseconds. That can power multi-player video games or devices and sensors connected to the industrial internet.

 

Vodafone said its 5G services would actually be available to customers much faster than Deutsche Telekom's, with existing customers able to switch over plans from Wednesday at a monthly cost of 5 euros or, for some high-end tariffs, for free. It is also advertising 5G-designed smartphones, providing the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G from Wednesday and Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G to follow, together with the Gigacube 5G home router from Huawei.

 

Vodafone, like some other German network operators, continues to rely on network gear from Huawei, the Chinese technology giant that has been sanctioned by the United States because of perceived security risks. The company continues to pursue a dual vendor strategy for its networks, utilising Huawei and Sweden's Ericsson, a spokesman said. Vodafone's 5G network will cover 25 cities, 25 municipalities and 10 industrial parks by the end of this year. It will reach 10 million users by the end of 2020, and 20 million by the end of 2021, the company said.

 

Source: TRONSERVE