5G Network Countries in 2020

5G network is now the most sought-after asset between nations. In 2019, the competition was about who launched it first. Now that contest has been won, it’s a race to which country will be able to have it accessible to the majority of consumers. It’s a big hurdle with several factors from infrastructure to costs to available hardware, which is the 5G phone.

Countries that Have 5G Network

Despite the hype around it, the infrastructure required has proven to be a major roadblock for many countries from adopting the latest innovation. While several are struggling to catch up, here are a few that have earned the name 5G network countries.

 

South Korea

While nations kept their eyes on the US and China, the top contenders for the 5G race, South Korea quietly crossed the finish line and surprised the world, far ahead of 2020, the anticipated year of 5G. They only announced having 5G a week before their planned date. Parts of the capital have been enjoying up to more than 800 GB of internet speed since early last year.

Since then, their citizens’ use of the internet has been slowly changing in ways that even superpower countries will have to catch up on, from the way they watch sports, to online communications, to live streaming, and hopefully soon, to driving hands-free. Today, 5G networks can now be found in around 100 cities.

South Korea saw an enthusiastic attitude towards the new tech, particularly for entertainment uses. AR and VR has become the norm. Viewers of live-streamed games choose to watch from any angle in 360-degrees because of the 60 cameras around the venue and having no lag because of 5g. Online personalities also used the live streaming function to make it work.

 

United States

Between the two competing vying for supremacy in 5G, the Western nation launched networks of the hyperspeed internet in selected cities. The time difference was a mere 6 hours with US and South Korea trying to outpace each other that week. At the time, Verizon was the sole carrier in the US, offering 5G to only a few cities.

Today, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile also have ultra-fast networks in some of the country’s major cities. All telecommunication companies provide 5G to consumers in roughly 30 cities around the country. However, AT&T makes their service exclusive to businesses in 16 states.

While it held much promise, performance has been less than satisfactory. Reception is still inconsistent, despite having 4 companies providing different 5g services.

 

Switzerland

Not long after 5G first launched in Asia, Swisscom, a major telecom provider, launched its first 5G network. They also began offering three 5G device options together with the release.

Their competitor, Sunrise, has already unveiled their own 5G network to the public, along with four 5G phones, one of them being the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which Swisscom also provides. Sunrise also offers the first 5G modem to make any home a 5G hotspot.

All-in-all, people in Switzerland can choose between 6 phones in total. With more than 200 cities and villages covered and another network by a third telecom on the way, 5G service is quickly becoming a practical option in this Central European nation.

However, citizens are calling for the installation of 5G to stop over worries of possible health problems, namely radiation. Companies responded by halting and acquiesced to testing for effects to exposure.

 

China

On October 31, 2019, China rolled out the widest coverage of 5G the world had at the time, immediately creating a standard for 5g network countries. Day 1 already saw 50 cities with operating 5G networks. Some of the more popular locations being Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. Outdoor areas in Shanghai saw coverage with the use of 12,000 base stations.

Huawei has been in talks with Western nations about using their equipment to establish their own 5G networks, which would give a further boost to China’s advancement in the tech. Yet even without them, the 850 million users in their home country alone pose a great opportunity, having the highest number of smartphone users than any other country around the globe.

The US has been vocal about urging other heads of states to ban one China mobile company, Huawei, particularly concerning 5G, saying it opens vulnerability to spying from Beijing. However, as the US has not brought out any evidence supporting their claims, other countries are turning towards the Eastern-based company to quicken their 5G network development.

 

Kuwait

They rank among the lowest in broadband penetration in the Middle East, making the least likely candidate to have the ultrafast internet this soon. However, it hasn’t prevented Kuwait from launching 5G networks. The announcement came as early as 2018 but launched 5G in June 2019.

The move was supported by the government, which hopes to improve its economy with the change. Officials stated that faster internet would further growth among industries such as in e-commerce. Kuwait has a rate of over 90% in mobile penetration so there’s optimism for quick adoption of 5G mobile.

At the time of launching, three networks were available but only one, Viva, claimed good coverage at 75%. Ooredoo didn’t release any information on what areas had their 5G, despite mobile plans already being offered.

 

Upcoming Countries

Progress across the globe is in such a wide variety. Some are welcoming foreign corporations to aid in the creation of the infrastructure while others are making big leaps relying on local telecoms. Here are lists showing where each country is in 5G adoption.

While these are 5G network countries, they’re kept to a few select cities and are expecting it to spread to other parts throughout 2020 or 5G is currently dedicated to a single telecom provider as of publishing.

1. Canada

2. Qatar

3. Saudi Arabia

4. Bahrain

5. Germany

6. Spain

7. Austria

8. Ireland

9. Faroe Islands

10. Romania

11. Hungary

12. Poland

13. France

14. Latvia

15. Monaco

16. Australia

17. New Zeland

18. Guam

The pilot test has been run for some of these countries while others are in the middle of 5G trials. People are waiting on the rollout of 5G base stations for commercial use, officially joining the list of 5G network countries:

1. Singapore

2. Turkey

3. Vietnam

4. Iran

5. Finland

6. Malaysia

7. Kazakhstan

8. Argentina

9. Colombia

10. Japan

11. Norway

12. Czech Republic

13. Italy

14. Faroe Islands

15. Channel Islands

16. Belarus

17. Sweden

18. Portugal

19. Estonia

20. Denmark

 

For these nations, the 5G situation is a bit confusing. There’s no clear widespread rollout. Some has been accomplished in certain areas and other telecoms claiming 5G doesn’t reach the standard speeds.

1. Bangladesh

2. Philippines

 

They’ve yet to test 5G and set up their first base station in these parts of the world so whether 5G coverage will be accomplished this year is still unclear. However, several have made it clear that they’re planning to launch.

1. Pakistan

2. Mexico

3. Honduras

4. Chile

5. Brazil

6. United Arab Emirates

7. India

8. Indonesia

9. Sri Lanka

10. Cambodia

11. Nigeria

12. Egypt

13. Morocco

14. Senegal

15. Democratic Republic of Congo

16. Kenya

17. Tunisia

18. United Kingdom

19. Finland

20. Russia

21. Luxembourg

22. Slovakia

23. Croatia

24. Azerbaijan

25. Iceland

26. The Netherlands

27. Belgium

28. Malta

Opinions about 5G differ about as much as 5G development worldwide but it’s undoubtedly arriving in your area and will play a huge role in shaping societies. While several of the predictions have taken form, there are certainly new and unexpected effects of access to the internet at hyperspeed. Right now, it’s a waiting game to see the unveiling of life with 5G.