Vodafone has launched its first of many 5G towers in the Paramatta area in Western Sydney. The news also highlights that there will be no extra cost for 5G services to Vodafone customer, unlike some other carriers which seem intent on charging a premium for 5G come mid-2020.
Vodafone is also planning to extend its $5 international roaming solution to 5G, while its customers in Australia will see no extra charge to access 5G on Vodafone’s mobile plans. Further to this, Vodafone will be offering customers 5G roaming in the coming months in a few selected countries (presumably where 5G is somewhat widely available)
Of course, this caveat will cause a few ears to prick up. At this time, the countries on the immediate 5G roaming radar are the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and Ireland which are all locations with strong Vodafone Networks. The addition of 5G roaming for customers on eligible plans ties in with Vodafone’s $5 roaming.
Vodafone CEO Iñaki Berroeta displayed his pride in this leap forward in a statement this morning:
This is an exciting occasion for us as a business and for our customers – we have worked tirelessly to put our customers at the heart of our 5G plans and we are proud to switch on our first live sites today in Parramatta.
In the coming months, we will be leading international roaming into the next generation of mobile technology by combining the great value of our $5 Roaming product with a 5G network experience in five of Australia’s favourite travel destinations
As you would expect, the 5G Vodafone 5G network will progressively roll out across the country to major centres. The official rollout will see sites going live from the middle of the year and continually grow. If you’re keen to see the network progression, check out the Vodafone 5G site where you can get the lowdown on the network, devices and eligible plans.
