Vodafone Germany this week claimed to be the first mobile network operator to deploy a 5G standalone network in Europe. 

“We are clearing the way for real-time connectivity. 5G is standing on its own two feet in Germany for the first time. We are the first network operator to put aside the LTE support wheels for 5G — not for internal tests, but for our customers who can experience real-time connections,” Vodafone Germany CEO Hannes Ametsreiter said in a statement.

The operator’s standalone 5G core is, at launch, powered by 1,000 antennas operating in the 3.5GHz range and provides coverage in 170 cities, according to the operator. Ericsson and Nokia both supplied equipment for Vodafone’s 5G radio access network (RAN) and 5G standalone core. 

In parts of Frankfurt, Germany’s fifth-most populated city, Vodafone claims it can deliver minimal latency in the range of 10 to 15 milliseconds.

The carrier’s first 5G data center is also located in Frankfurt, which allows data to be processed in near real time. Vodafone also said it’s proceeding with plans to deploy network slicing technology on its standalone 5G network, a development that will allow it to provision private networks with guaranteed bandwidth rates and latency performance.

“5G improves mobile communications in three dimensions. So far, it has mainly been about higher bandwidths. We are now setting the go-ahead for ultra-low delay times and network slicing in Germany,” Vodafone Germany CTO Gerhard Mack said in a statement. 

Vodafone Germany and its closest competitor Deutsche Telekom activated the first 5G services in limited areas across Germany within the span of two weeks in the summer of 2019. Until now, both operators have relied heavily on dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) to boost 5G coverage on their existing 3G and 4G LTE footprints. 

Germany’s trio of mobile operators, including Telefónica Deutschland, also banded together in late 2019 to kickstart an initiative to improve network coverage and combat dead zones throughout the country on a collaborative basis. That effort, which called for the installation of 6,000 new cell sites, will focus on rural areas, roads, rail, and inland waterway transportation routes.

Standalone 5G networks operating on a 5G core are a global rarity. Two years after the first 5G networks were deployed in the U.S. and South Korea, very few operators have made the transition to an independent 5G network that doesn’t rely on legacy 4G LTE equipment. 

A 5G standalone core separates 5G traffic and operations, and is a critical difference-maker in delivering true 5G. By removing 5G service from a 4G LTE anchor, a standalone 5G core unlocks a series of important features, including network slicing, better spectrum optimization, a wider coverage radius, reductions in latency, and heightened speed and reliability. 

T-Mobile US deployed the world’s first 5G standalone network in August 2020. AT&T and Verizon have yet to deploy a 5G standalone network. Both operators have faced delays or otherwise pushed back on timelines for 5G standalone.  

Verizon said it successfully completed a 5G standalone core test in July 2020 and expected network traffic to start hitting the new core before the end of 2020. It previously said full commercialization of the 5G standalone core would occur in 2021. AT&T previously said it expected an early wave of standalone 5G core deployments to get underway before the end of 2020 and claimed it would have a broad standalone 5G network by June 2021. 

Many global operators are expected to deploy 5G in standalone mode this year, but the pace of rollouts and delays in multiple markets indicate that true 5G is not materializing as quickly as the wireless industry once hoped.