Vodafone is set to finish building its 5G network in metropolitan population areas by the end of 2026, the company revealed in its half-year results. 2,500 sites have currently been upgraded to 5G, which represents over half of the 5,000 sites Vodafone has in metro areas. The telco defines metro areas as "the area covering 80% of the population".
In addition to metro 5G coverage, Vodafone is planning to upgrade approximately 250 sites to 5G in non-metro areas, but hasn't put a time frame on this. This would mean the Vodafone 5G network will ultimately end up covering somewhere between 81% and 90% of the Australian population. The full Vodafone network covers 96% of the population.
While Vodafone previously wasn't planning on rolling out 5G outside of metro areas, it will now do so as a result of parent company TPG's network sharing deal with Telstra being blocked.
5G may be associated with mobile more so than home internet, but the TPG group's 5G and 4G home internet plans have bolstered margins for the company with the customer base growing to over 200,000.
"The growth of our Fixed Wireless services has increased the profitability of our Fixed broadband business and shows that consumer appetite for no-fuss, great value connectivity remains strong," said CEO and Managing Director, Iñaki Berroeta.
TPG previously said it could save $50 million per year for every 100,000 NBN customers it moves on to one of its 4G or 5G internet plans. Vodafone, TPG, iiNet, and Internode all offer 4G and 5G home internet plans.
Vodafone's 5G network news follows an update from Telstra last month, where it announced its 5G network now covers 85% of the population. Optus doesn't disclose 5G network coverage as a population figure, but over 1.6 million addresses are eligible for its 5G home internet service.
Alex Choros
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