Dusseldorf “You surf faster than lightning in Germany’s largest and best 5G network,” promises Deutsche Telekom in its advertising. Two years after the start of real-time mobile radio 5G in Germany, millions of people can use the technology. Almost all new smartphones support the standard. According to calculations by the Federal Network Agency, more than half of Germany’s area (53 percent) is already supplied with 5G.
The much-vaunted 5G age should actually begin now. But the experience of many end customers with 5G is disappointing; it currently offers little additional benefit. There are two reasons.
First there is the technology. The Handelsblatt asked all network operators about the current status of their 5G expansion. The picture is sobering. According to its own information, Telekom supplies more than 71 million people in Germany with 5G. However, of the 18,000 5G locations in Germany, only 800 offer the particularly powerful frequency range of 3.6 gigahertz (GHz).
Only from this frequency range can the full advantages of the new cellular standard with extremely fast data transmission over one gigabit per second be used. However, the range of the antennas is lower in these areas. Significantly more locations are required to cover the same area. This can only be implemented in metropolitan areas, where many paying customers live together in a confined space.
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At Vodafone, 450 out of 6,000 locations support the 3.6 GHz range. Telefónica was the last of the three network operators to enter the race for 5G, but has consistently bet on 3.6 GHz from the start. Of only 1,500 locations, 1,200 offer the 3.6 GHz frequency range.
In the end, this means that Telekom and Vodafone in particular are already formally offering millions of customers “5G”. However, customers in the vicinity of the really efficient locations also receive full-fledged 5G. Customers outside of the largest city centers, on the other hand, hardly notice any improvement to the existing 4G network.
There is no “killer app” for 5G
The second reason why many users are disappointed is the lack of really powerful 5G applications. Even those who are dialed in with their smartphone at a 3.6 GHz location can hardly use the performance. “The most common application in the 5G network is a speed test,” says a high-ranking manager of a network operator. Due to the lack of alternatives, customers use speed test apps – if at all. Proven download speeds of one gigabit and more per second are currently not really exhausted by almost any app.
An example: video streaming is an application with particularly high bandwidth requirements. But even video providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Joyn are far from exhausting the possibilities of 5G. Netflix recommends an Internet connection with at least 25 megabits per second for streaming videos in the current particularly high-resolution resolution standard 4K (Ultra HD).
For comparison: Deutsche Telekom offers up to 300 megabits per second in its 4G network, Vodafone up to 500 megabits. In terms of figures, Vodafone customers could stream up to 20 videos in 4K quality at the same time with their 4G contract. At full 5G speed that would turn out to be 40.
The Swedish network supplier Ericsson has determined in a study what this leads to. The sobering result: First-time users of 5G are disappointed. “70 percent are dissatisfied with the lack of innovative services and expect applications that also use the capabilities of 5G,” says the analysis by Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab, which is based on a survey of around 31,000 5G users.
According to the survey, users in 26 countries analyzed would be willing to pay an average of 20 to 30 percent more for 5G services. But the corresponding applications such as 3D holograms, 5G entertainment in the car or 360-degree video live streams have not yet reached the mass market.
Ericsson is nevertheless convinced that the potential of the technology is enormous. Revenue from 5G-based services is expected to reach $ 31 trillion in 2030.
Holey 5G network
However, many developers of 5G applications are still cautious. That has to do with the technical process of the 5G introduction: The network is a patchwork quilt in Germany and many other countries.
The mobile communications service provider Opensignal has analyzed the 5G networks in many countries. In Germany, the company comes to the conclusion that customers with a 5G-capable smartphone and a 5G-capable contract ultimately only have access to 5G for a fraction of their time online. At Deutsche Telekom the value was 11.1 percent of the time, Vodafone only got 4.3 percent, Telefónica 4.1 percent.
For the Danish telecommunications expert John Strand, another aspect is also important when it comes to 5G: the mobile communications standard is not yet complete. In several rounds, the 3GPP standardization committee determines which functions must belong to 5G.
Strand is convinced that the really exciting developments will only come with the implementation of the standards for the next two years: “Before that, we won’t get any real 5G functions. Until then, 5G is just one way for network operators to handle data transfers more cheaply. “
In some major cities in Germany, the mobile networks are already at their limit. 4G has its limits, 5G, in contrast, offers significantly higher data throughput. This makes things easier for network operators without having to set up new cell phone antennas.
A look at the history of cellular communications shows that the problems with 5G are no exception. In 2000, the frequencies for 3G mobile communications in Germany were auctioned for a massive 50 billion euros. The operators then expanded their networks, but there was a lack of terminals and applications for faster data transmission. Only in 2007 did the breakthrough for the 3G network come with the introduction of the iPhone and the subsequent triumph of smartphones with high-bandwidth mobile services.
The open question is now: What will the counterpart to the first iPhone that will bring the breakthrough for 5G?
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