Vodafone launched the fifth generation of 5G mobile networks for customers in the Czech Republic on October 1 last year in five cities . These were Karlovy Vary, Ústí nad Labem and Jeseník (cities with which the operator cooperates to put the latest technology into practice) and also the most populated areas of the Czech Republic: Prague and Brno. At the same time, in October, Vodafone was the first to cover the 5G signal of a selected Prague metro station with a signal, which thus became one of the first 5G underground railways in the world.

Now the 5G signal is at least partially covered by over 130 towns and smaller municipalities, such as Aš and Český Těšín, Liberec and České Budějovice, as well as Český Krumlov, Havlíčkův Brod, Vrchlabí, Kladno, and Rokycany. The signal thus covers more than a fifth of the entire Czech population and is available to approximately 2 million inhabitants. This is due to the increase in the number of transmitters that Vodafone has installed with 5G technology. While in October there were about 80 base stations, there are currently more than 700 transmitters. 35 Prague metro stations are already covered by the 5G network from Vodafone. Vodafone currently has by far the most extensive 5G coverage in the Czech Republic.

GigaNetwork on the ground and in the air Vodafone Czech 5G

“Last year, we launched a fixed gigabit network and currently offer a fixed Internet connection with a speed of 1 Gb / s for more than 1.4 million households and companies. We are now implementing our ambition to build a GigaNetwork in the Czech Republic for mobile connections. We do not focus only on the largest Czech cities, but more than a fifth of the population across the country can join 5G from their homes. And for example, when walking or shopping, 5G is already available to many more people. It is an evolution towards high mobile speeds, normally in the order of hundreds of megabits per second, “ says Milan Zíka, Vodafone’s Vice President of Technology.

Slavomír Slanina, Director of Network Development at Vodafone, adds: “We continue to expand 5G coverage with the help of state-of-the-art Dynamic Spectrum Sharing technology, which enables single-spectrum spectrum allocation and state-of-the-art Single RAN technology to serve 5G and LTE customers simultaneously. It’s a significant step that can make efficient use of the allocated spectrum and, combined with the impending shutdown of the 3G network, will help significantly increase network capacity for our customers’ growing needs. “

Vodafone plans to switch off the 3G network in its entirety at the end of March 2021. The frequencies on which the older 3G mobile network operates will thus be released for the more modern 4G LTE and 5G . Vodafone used frequencies in the 1800 and 2100 MHz bands to expand its coverage.

The selection of 5G phones is already wide

During the current introductory offer, corporate and non-corporate customers with existing tariffs, as well as prepaid card holders, can join the 5G network. But they need the latest mobile phones that can work with Vodafone’s 5G network. At the same time, it is constantly expanding the offer of phones with support for a fast 5G network.

Currently, for example, the phones are Samsung Galaxy S21 or Apple iPhone 12, then Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T, Huawei P40 Pro or Samsung Galaxy A42 5G. The Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2 intelligent router can also work with a fast network. More devices are added here .

If you have one of the Vodafone Unlimited tariffs at Vodafone and buy a 5G phone (the device must be compatible with the Vodafone network), you can fully test exactly what the technical parameters of the new 5G technology allow, ie without a speed cap, during the launch offer. After the launch period and further expansion of coverage, Vodafone will present a new offer tailored to 5G.