Only a few cell phones are compatible
O2 is switching to pure 5G mobile communications
October 2, 2023, 9:32 a.m
All mobile phone providers are planning this in the long term, but O2 is now moving forward – and is enabling the 5G standard across the entire mobile phone network. This should allow customers to surf even faster on the go. However, there is a catch.
O2 is the first German telecommunications provider to rely on pure 5G mobile communications across its entire mobile phone network, thereby giving customers the opportunity to have better connections. As the company announced in Munich, customers will be able to surf in “standalone”, also called “5G Plus”, from October 10th. This means that 5G technology is used throughout both the antennas and the core network – this increases the already high speeds even further and enables almost real-time communication. So far, O2 has also relied on 4G/LTE technology in the core network as a kind of precursor to pure 5G.
“We can connect our customers sustainably and with high data rates and enable new digital applications,” said Telefónica Deutschland’s head of technology, Mallik Rao. The 5G network already reaches more than 90 percent of the population and should be accessible throughout Germany by the end of 2025 “and thus give digitalization a massive boost.” In the industry, “5G SA”, as it is abbreviated, is seen as having great future potential.
Competitor Vodafone is not yet as advanced as O2. According to company information, more than half of the 5G locations also operate standalone, and the trend is rising. Deutsche Telekom is not yet using 5G SA in normal operation for private customers. The additional benefit of the technology for consumers is limited, as the previously widespread 5G hybrid version is also very fast and offers low latencies – response times.
“There are currently no applications for private customers for which 5G SA is an essential requirement,” said a Telekom spokeswoman. “We will only offer 5G standalone for our customers when there is real customer benefit.” Technically speaking, the Telekom network is SA-capable throughout Germany.
A big disadvantage: Many devices do not support the technology, only the new models are compatible. The antenna locations of O2 and Vodafone, which have already been converted to standalone, continue to transmit in the 5G hybrid version – so no user is excluded.