Table of contents:
- 5G with Vodafone
- Unlimited mobile rate
- Unlimited mobile rate Super
- Unlimited mobile rate Total
- 5G with Movistar
- 5G with Orange
At this point everyone is familiar with “5G”, a technology that is beginning to emerge in Spain with the aim of improving speed in mobile communications. Of the three main operators in our country, currently only Vodafone has started the commercial deployment of 5G. At the moment, it has started in 15 Spanish cities, although it is expected that with the passage of time it will reach more.
Those users who have in their possession a device compatible with 5G, will be able to download data at a speed of up to 1 GB (it is expected that by the end of this year it can reach up to 2 GB). We are talking about a figure with a latency reduction of up to 5 milliseconds, and that multiplies 4G speeds by ten. This will be essential to use apps in real time or in those related to virtual reality. Whether you are from Vodafone, Orange or Movistar, below we review the current state of the 5G situation in Spain in these operators.
5G with Vodafone
As we say, Vodafone has been the first operator that has begun to commercially implement 5G in Spain. Among the first 15 fortunate cities to have this technology are: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Vitoria, Santander, San Sebastián, Coruña, Vigo, Gijón, Pamplona and Logroño. In any case, it should be noted that despite the fact that this connectivity is already available in these areas, it is only possible to achieve 50% of the total coverage. At high speed it is only possible to connect in certain places.
If you already have a 5G mobile in your possession, you are from one of these 15 cities, and you want to test the connection with Vodafone, the operator makes different rates available to its users. These are:
Unlimited mobile rate
For a price of 41 euros per month, with this rate you will have access to 5G connectivity with unlimited mobile data (with a speed limited to 2 MB). This offer also has unlimited calls and includes roaming in Europe and the United States.
Unlimited mobile rate Super
Vodafone's unlimited Super includes 5G connectivity with unlimited mobile data at a speed limited to 10MB. Unlimited minutes and roaming in the European Union and the United States is also included. Price: 46 euros per month.
Unlimited mobile rate Total
This rate is the most complete of Vodafone, since it has 5G connectivity at unlimited speed with unlimited time. Like the others, you will also have unlimited calls and data apart from roaming in Europe and the United States. Its price is 50 euros per month.
5G with Movistar
Telefónica has not revealed for now when it intends to roll out 5G in Spain. We know that they have been conducting pilot tests and demonstrations for some time, and that they had originally planned a commercial launch for 2020, although everything indicates that it will be delayed.
Movistar's commitment will initially go through deploying 5G with SA technology, although it is planned that they will previously deploy 5G NSA networks, since the 5G SA standard has not yet been fully defined. As we say, it is difficult to be ready for 2020. The explanation is simple. It will be in the middle of that year when the complete specification of the 5G network (release 16) is ready. Since it typically takes 12 to 18 months for commercial network equipment to be available after specification close, this places 5G network rollout in 2021.
At the moment, for the deployment of 5G in our country, the spectrum available in the 3.7 GHz band is being used. However, within a year we are expected to have the spectrum in the 700 MHz band after being auctioned in the second Digital Dividend, which will help expand coverage and, therefore, reach other less populated areas. Regarding the selection of providers for the deployment of the new networks and the veto of Huawei, Movistar recently assured that they work with the current providers of the 4G network, that is Nokia and Ericsson.
5G with Orange
Orange's steps with 5G are very similar to those of Movistar. The operator has carried out demonstrations of its advances, in its case in connected cars and in robotics applications. However, from their way of thinking they believe that it is still too early to carry out the deployment. Orange believes that 5G technology is still in a very early stage, and they think it is necessary to reorganize the entire spectrum from 3.4 to 3.8 GHz so that all operators have their spectrum contiguously available.
Although the speed of 5G can be offered with the current state, something that we are seeing from the hand of Vodafone, the orange operator ensures that better connectivity, in more areas and with lower latency, will really be a reality in 2020 or 2021. As in the case of Movistar, everything indicates that the true deployment of 5G technology in Orange will take place well into 2021 or early 2022, so there would still be a long way to go.
The operator's roadmap shows the year 2020 to deploy the 5G Stand Alone networks and the years 2021 and 2022 for the full commercial deployment. Therefore, the NSA phase would be skipped. And it is that for Orange there is no excessive rush. They prefer to continue piloting with different use cases, with the aim of verifying that all expectations are met once commercial deployment can take place.
