Vodafone has activated the first 5G mobile phone network in Germany, making it the fourth European country the network operator has rolled out service to.
Vodafone has launched services to 20 cities in Germany using 25 stations with 60 5G antennas. Vodafone is using Ericsson’s massive MIMO Air 6488 commercial hardware and baseband 6630 from its radio system portfolio. The 5G base stations are connected to Ericsson’s evolved packet core network.
Vodafone launched 5G services in the U.K. and Spain in May with more cities expected to join the list by the end of the year. The smartphones in these countries will include the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the Huawei Mate X and Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G. This month, Vodafone launched 5G service to five cities in Italy including Milan, Turin, Bologna, Rome and Naples.
By expanding 5G service to Germany, Vodafone has now launched 5G services to 35 cities in Europe including cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, as well as London, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester in the U.K. Additionally, Vodafone has launched free 5G roaming service in Italy, Spain and the U.K.
Vodafone said the first 5G smartphone that customers can buy in Germany will be the Huawei Mate X 20 5G and the telecom will start to offer the GigaCube 5G, which will be a 5G router for the home that will replace traditional DSL connections.