Today in Milan Vodafone showed for the first time in Italy the potential of the 4G mobile network at 1,2 Gigabits per second and of the ultra-broadband on access Fiber networks at 10 Gigabits per second. Through the first application on commercial devices, Vodafone illustrated the perspectives of the new ultra-fast fixed and mobile networks.
The evolution of the mobile network was achieved by combining all the radio frequencies available today to create the mobile connection at 1,2 Gbps, while for the fiber the use of 10GPON technology has made it possible to reach 10 Gbps in access. In both cases it was used Huawei technology.
The networks that exceed Gigabit per second, in which Vodafone is investing, pave the way for business and consumer applications in the fields of virtual and tactile reality, in those of telemedicine as well as entertainment, up to advanced applications for connected cars, and advanced home automation. In the future, it will be possible to manage multiple users who simultaneously access high-definition content, live applications immersive reality, giving shape to digital realities, or use advanced smart working methods that are fully integrated with company applications.
Already today over 50% of mobile data on the Vodafone network is 4G, while the use of data grows by two and a half times from 2015 to 2019 (source: Cisco), with applications that require more and more data, such as video streaming, which for Vodafone represents around 50% of fixed and mobile connections.
Less than two years after the launch of the Spring investment plan, Vodafone's 4G network has reached 95% of the population and was recently recognized as the "best 4G mobile network in Italy" by the German Institute of Quality and Finance and by the research company P3 Communications. Vodafone's 4G network is now available in 6100 municipalities, of which over 800 in 4G+ with download speeds of up to 225 Megabits per second. The plan to build the Vodafone fiber optic network started in September 2014 and the service is now available in over 200 cities, equal to 7,8 million households and businesses. In the cities of Milan, Turin and Bologna, Vodafone was the first to launch the fiber service with speeds of up to 300Mbps.
