Vodafone launched its first commercial 5G network in the UK back in July 2019. Initially, the operator had rolled out the services of the next-generation network for only 7 cities of the UK. However, today, Vodafone’s 5G networks cover 100 cities of the UK and an additional 193 markets across Europe. If you have any issues with your broadband internet connection or if there’s no fiberisation in your area due to which you can’t purchase a fiber broadband connection, well, Vodafone GigaCube has you covered. Vodafone GigaCube is a service much like what India’s premier telco, Reliance Jio, was offering with the Jio-Fi. Under the service, users get a portable router from the telco, which can connect with a 5G or 4G network and provide a Wi-Fi connection.
Vodafone GigaCube Works With Both 5G and 4G Networks
On the purchase of this service, Vodafone users get a Huawei 5G CPE Pro router. The company has chosen this particular router because it can facilitate speeds of up to 1 Gbps. This speed capacity makes it an ideal device to provide the users when they are seeking very high-speed with a 5G network. Of course, users need to insert a 5G nano-SIM card on the device. The router can work with both 5G and 4G networks. Thus, if the users are inclined to keep using 4G services, they can install a 4G nano-SIM card on the router. Further, the router has two antenna ports, two ethernet ports, and 4GB NANDFlash/8GB DDR4 memory. The router takes the mobile network (5G or 4G) and then converts it into Wi-Fi for the users. Vodafone’s website mentions that users can connect up to 64 devices at a time from the network of this router. The router can provide Wi-Fi networks at dual-band channels - 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz. As mentioned above, it is not a very new concept of providing internet services. Jio has already done it with Jio-Fi. But the case to note here is that Jio did it with a 4G network. With true 5G speeds, the role of such routers might be enhanced. This is because they can provide healthy speeds of up to 1 Gbps and don’t require setup like a broadband connection does. Indian operators are yet to launch 5G services in India. At the moment, it is hard to say if Jio will again look this way and provide users with a 5G enabled Jio-Fi device.
