Even before the frequencies of 5G are officially auctioned, Vodafone is rolling out the next generation of fast mobile internet in the Netherlands. Tonight 28 April Vodafone will activate 5G in the southern half of the Netherlands. From the end of July, 5G will be available throughout the Netherlands.
Vodafone uses the same frequencies it uses for 4G. By sharing these, it doesn’t need to modify antennas. As soon as the frequencies belonging to 5G are auctioned, Vodafone will still use them. For now, the current frequencies of 4G will suffice, even if they don’t reach the promised 5G speeds. For now the speeds are about 10% higher than 4G.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46wH5_agRJY&w=620&h=349]
5G not only means faster downloading, it also greatly reduces the so-called latency. Connections are set up faster and that makes new applications possible. For example, you can play mobile gaming online. But smart devices can also communicate with each other faster in real time. Expect an explosive growth of IoT devices that exchange information with each other. Self-driving cars that talk to each other, drones that stream high-resolution video of crops to the farmer and numerous Virtual and Augmented Reality applications from which we can barely make representations.
5G subscriptions
Vodafone customers with a Red or Red Pro subscription can use 5G free of charge. This will be activated automatically in the coming days. Startup customers can order an add-on of 2 euros per month. The only condition is that you have a 5G phone. Vodafone itself offers the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, S20+, S20 Ultra and Oppo Find X2 Pro but more will follow soon. You will recognize if you are on ‘5G’ via the 5G icon at the top of the screen.
Burning transmitter mast
Recently, dozens of masts have been set on fire, presumably by opponents of 5G. They claim despite lack of evidence that 5G masts are harmful to health. The coronavirus outbreak has also been wrongly linked to the roll-out of 5G. Ironically, the Netherlands currently has only a handful of ‘real’ 5G transmission masts. Most of the masts set on fire are regular 4G masts. The 700 megahertz, 3.5 gigahertz and 26 gigahertz frequencies on which 5G will soon be active have not yet been auctioned and are not yet allowed to be used. In order to roll out full 5G, new masts will have to be installed and existing masts will have to be extended.