As a global connectivity service provider, we have, of course, been tracking the progress of 5G for years constantly assessing the needs of our customers, partners and prospects - and figuring out if they would actually benefit from having access to 5G networks around the world.
Following extensive testing of a number of 5G networks from operators around the world, we will be adding 5G networks to our Global Roaming Service which currently provides seamless coverage across 1100 cellular networks from over 625 mobile operators in more than 220 countries.
5G will be available to all our customers with the same pricing as our other services. However, we will be staying true to our mission of providing the best, and most suitable, connectivity for our customers, 5G or otherwise.
As we wrote in this blog Ignore the hype about 5G private networks and focus on the global connectivity your organisation really needs, at Telecom26 our message is also clear:
LTE will be the dominant cellular technology for some time to come, particularly in remote regions. What most enterprises really need isn’t the latest 5G. They need solutions that meet their current needs – and which can evolve over time.
Secure, controlled and reliable comms is what most enterprises want and need - and we provide seamless access for mobile users from public to private networks, protecting assets while delivering a better user experience. And, perhaps all that the cellphones of your employees and IoT devices really need is a Private APN.
The Rollout of 5G Around The World
That said, there’s no doubt that 5G will eventually be the technology of choice for many future cellular needs. Forbes magazine in its piece The State Of 5G In Early 2022 predicts that
“2022 will be an even busier year for operators than 2021”.
At the end of last year, Speedtest wrote that
“there were 5G deployments in 112 countries as of November 30, 2021. That’s up from 99 countries on the same date a year ago. The total number of deployments increased dramatically during the same time period with 85,602 deployments on November 30, 2021 compared to 17,428 on November 30, 2020, highlighting the degree to which 5G networks scaled during the year. Note that there are often multiple deployments in a given city”.
Speedtest also noted that “The presence of 5G is only one indicator in a market, because even in markets where 5G has launched, coverage and adoption can be pretty low. We analyzed 5G Availability to see what percent of users on 5G-capable devices spent the majority of their time on 5G, both roaming and on-network during Q3 2021
The United States had the highest 5G Availability at 49.2%, followed by the Netherlands (45.1%), South Korea (43.8%), Kuwait (35.5%) and Qatar (34.8%). Brazil had the lowest 5G Availability on our list at 0.8%, followed by Sweden (1.5%), South Africa (2.7%), New Zealand (2.9%) and Hungary (3.6%).”
Bottom line: 5G is the future, for sure, and we are incorporating it into our Global Roaming Service. When a 5G cell is available, you’ll connect automatically to it. However, LTE is far more widespread and will remain hugely significant for many years. Don’t get sidetracked.
If you’d like to discuss how our Global Roaming Service can keep your people and devices connected wherever they are in the world, then please get in touch. And, we’re already eyeing the future, as we watch developments towards the definition and standardisation of future 6G networks, led by the ITU, among others. But that’s another story!
And, of course, we’ll be at the next global must-attend event of the year, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 28 Feb - 3 March in Hall 7, Stand 7G10 if you’d like to meet up in-person, please contact us.
