Uganda’s biggest telecom companies– Airtel and MTN have both launched their new networks with ridiculous 5G download speeds. Obviously, the battle of gigabit download speeds has also started. officially Airtel launched 5G at Bugolobi & its neighboring areas while at UCC, although there was no official speed test demo like MTN did, images this website has managed to obtain show that Airtel’s 5G is a bit faster.
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Airtel expects to roll out 50 more sites to be operational by the end of August. The best part is you users won’t need to change their SIM cards to start using the service as long as they have a 5G compatible phone, it will work seamlessly on VoLTE.
With the increased 5G download data speeds, users have been warned that data consumption may increase for activities like downloading movies or consuming large content. However, Telecom companies like MTN plan to offer separate larger data bundles for 5G, and for applications like WhatsApp and OTT, data consumption will remain similar since they don’t require high-speed data. MTN also plans to go live with the eSIM product in mid-August, and VoLTE (Voice over LTE) will also be ready to go live.
The 5G download speeds we know so far
5G download speeds on both networks feel like a proper next-gen leap over current 4G-LTE performance. Both telecoms are going over 1Gbps is very typical, and crossing that gigabit marker can happen regularly if you’re standing near one of the carrier’s 5G nodes, which utilize millimeter wave technology to achieve faster download rates.
Let me balance that excitement a bit: 5G deployment is going to take years before we hit the same saturation and blanket coverage that currently exists with LTE. Millimeter wave technology alone isn’t going to be enough: indoor coverage on both 5G networks will be tricky deployment, and that’s a major issue. And for now, uploads are still limited to slower speeds compared to downloads.
While MTN managed to hit peak speeds of 1.02Gbps during its demo at UCC earlier this week, our speed test indicates that Airtel is capable to reach 1.38Gpbs speeds. But as I have mentioned before, don’t expect similar speeds in real-life settings out of the demo rooms as speeds will be affected by several factors including; capacity, sever speeds, device used, location coverage, etc. The battle for the best 5G download speeds between the two giant telecoms can only be closed off after both networks have fully deployed their networks at least in most parts of Kampala.
Expect Speeds to drop quickly as you walk away from any 5G node, and the 5G signal is basically gone once you lose line of sight and you will be switched back to LTE. The 5G icon will always appear when your phone is actively using data on both networks. At all other times, it displays 4G.
The rollout of higher 5G download speeds from both networks is starting to feel like different networks compared to what we have and it’s too early to call which network is better I’ve never seen anything this fast in Uganda.
