Telekom presented a new 5G contract at a press conference – as expected, it is anything but cheap.
5G is the name of a new standard for mobile internet and telephony. It allows data rates of up to 20 Gbit/s and the use of higher frequency ranges. In 2019, an auction of licenses took place in the Federal Republic of Germany. South Korea, Switzerland and individual cities in the USA have already put 5G into operation - now Germany wants to get started too. Telekom is now offering contracts with access to the 5G network - but who can benefit from it? With the Magenta Mobil XL tariff special for 85 euros a month, Telekom customers can theoretically surf with 5G - a Samsung Galaxy S10 is required for this. The smartphone is available with the new tariff for 899.95 euros - quite expensive.
Six cities planned for this year
But what is the point of a contract with a matching cell phone if the network is not yet fully operational in the six German pilot cities? At the start of the new network, Berlin, Bonn and Darmstadt will be the test areas. Munich, Hamburg and Leipzig will follow by the end of 2019 and 20 more cities will be added by the end of 2020 - according to Telekom. But let's take Berlin as an example - anyone who decides on the new contract should know that not even the capital is equipped with 5G across the board - at the moment, the overpriced contract model hardly seems to make any sense. Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen.) for 19.99 euros – only for a short time (Image: iStock by Getty Images)