Vodafone triples 5G coverage, but there's a catch

Vodafone today announced it has tripled its 5G coverage, hitting its target of bringing the next generation network to 85% of the population in ten of the nation's biggest cities. These include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong, and the Central Coast.

There is a catch, however. Vodafone's expanded 5G footprint relies on standalone 5G, also known as 5G SA. With 5G SA, devices can connect directly to the 5G network with relying on 4G. Non-Standalone 5G (5G NSA) still requires 4G to underpin it. 

What complicates matters is devices will need an update to support 5G SA. Vodafone says no phones currently support the 5G SA portion of its network, but the software patches are imminent. The Samsung Galaxy S21 will be the first to be enabled, "within weeks".

Over a dozen devices and modems are on the roadmap over the new few months, according to a Vodafone spokesperson.

For comparison, Telstra's 5G network currently covers over 75% of the population, while Optus says its network spans over 830,000 homes and businesses. Optus hasn't provided a population figure.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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