Vodafone Germany has announced the launch of LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) mobile data speeds of up to 500Mbps, using tri-carrier aggregation (3C) technology in the 800MHz, 1800MHz and 2600MHz frequency bands. The high speed service is currently limited to parts of Berlin and Dusseldorf, although more locations will be added in the coming months. To experience 500Mbps speeds, customers require a compatible handset, such as the Sony Xperia XZ, and the relevant firmware upgrades, which will become commercially available in the first quarter of 2017.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in September this year Vodafone Germany introduced LTE mobile data speeds of up to 375Mbps in 22 cities, including Berlin, Chemnitz, Cottbus, Dortmund, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Erfurt, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Herne, Kassel, Cologne, Stuttgart and Wesel. In addition, the UK-owned company offers fixed broadband cable speeds of 400Mbps to almost six million households.