Here are all the operators charging extra for 5G

BofA Global Research surveyed global operators' pricing strategies in order to find the trends. The results are mixed.

Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies

July 7, 2022

13 Min Read

Here are all the operators charging extra for 5G

The rise of 5G has created a conundrum for operators around the world: Is it valuable enough to charge extra for it?

Some service providers have answered that question with a definitive yes, while others aren't so sure. It's an important question because many network operators have doled out a significant amount of money for the spectrum and equipment necessary to launch 5G. Recouping that investment without a direct price increase is difficult.

BofA Global Research surveyed operators worldwide about their pricing strategies to find the trends. The extensive results, shown in the table below, are mixed.

Country	Operator	Capacity limits (GB/month caps)	Network access (3G/4G/5G)	Network speed (faster speeds with 5G)	Features (discounted streaming services)
Australia	Telstra	NO	NO	NO	NO
	Optus	NO	YES	YES	YES
	TPG	NO	YES	YES	NO
	Vodafone	NO	YES	YES	NO
Belgium	PROXIMUS	YES	YES	NO	NO
	OBEL	YES	NO	NO	NO
	TELENET	YES	NO	NO	NO
	VOO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Canada	TELUS	YES	YES	YES	YES
	ROGERS	YES	YES	NO	NO
	BELL	YES	YES	YES	NO
Denmark	NUUDAY	YES	NO	NO	YES
	TELIA	YES	NO	NO	YES
	TELENOR	YES	YES	NO	NO
	THREE	YES	NO	NO	YES
Finland	ELISA	NO	YES	YES	YES
	DNA	NO	YES	YES	YES
	TELIA	NO	YES	YES	YES
France	ORANGE	YES	YES	NO	NO
	SFR	YES	YES	NO	NO
	BOUYGUES	YES	YES	NO	NO
	FREE	YES	NO	NO	NO
Germany	DEUTSCHE T	YES	NO	NO	YES
	VODAFONE	YES	NO	NO	NO
	O2D	YES	YES	YES	YES
Greece	COSMOTE	YES	NO	NO	NO
	VODAFONE	YES	NO	NO	NO
	WIND	YES	NO	NO	NO
Italy	TEL ITALIA	YES	NO	YES	NO
	VODAFONE	YES	NO	YES	YES
	WINDTRE	YES	NO	NO	NO
	ILIAD	YES	NO	NO	NO
Japan	NTT	YES	NO	NO	YES
	KDDI	YES	NO	NO	YES
	SoftBank	YES	NO	NO	YES
Netherlands	KPN	YES	NO	NO	NO
	T-MOBILE	YES	YES	NO	YES
	TELE2	YES	YES	NO	NO
	VODAFONE	YES	NO	NO	NO
Norway	TELENOR	YES	NO	YES	YES
	TELIA	YES	NO	YES	YES
	ICE	YES	NO	YES	NO
Saudi Arabia	STC	YES	NO	NO	YES
	MOBILY	YES	NO	NO	NO
	ZAIN KSA	YES	NO	NO	YES
South Africa	Vodacom	YES	YES	NO	NO
	MTN	YES	YES	YES	NO
	Cell-C	YES	NO	NO	YES
Spain	TELEFONICA	YES	NO	NO	NO
	VODAFONE	YES	NO	YES	YES
	ORANGE	YES	NO	NO	NO
	MASMOVIL	YES	NO	NO	NO
Sweden	TELIA	YES	NO	NO	YES
	TELE2	YES	YES	NO	YES
	TELENOR	YES	NO	NO	YES
	THREE	YES	NO	NO	YES
Switzerland	SWISSCOM	YES	NO	YES	NO
	SUNRISE	YES	NO	YES	YES
	SALT	YES	NO	NO	YES
Turkey	TURKCELL	YES	NO	NO	YES
	VODAFONE	YES	NO	NO	YES
	TURK TELEKOM	YES	NO	NO	YES
UAE	ETISALAT	YES	NO	NO	YES
	DU	YES	NO	NO	YES
UK	BT/EE	YES	NO	NO	YES
	VODAFONE	YES	NO	YES	YES
	VMO2	YES	NO	NO	YES
	THREE	YES	NO	NO	YES
US	VERIZON	YES	NO	NO	YES
	AT&T	YES	YES	NO	YES
	T-MOBILE	YES	NO	NO	YES
Source: BofA Global Research, based on company data. Used with permission

"In some markets, operators are offering 5G monthly service plans that charge a premium for the fastest 5G speeds or a smaller amount for limited, lower speeds," the BofA analysts wrote in a recent report. "Charging for speed is akin to how fixed wireline broadband operators sell service plans and opens a new dimension for migrating customers to higher value/priced plans."

The analysts noted that in North America, Canada is leading on that front. "We expect US carriers are inclined to follow but are disinclined to conjure up the specter of paid traffic prioritization and network neutrality," they added.

In the US, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile "have not differentiated service tiers using download speeds," according to the analysts. "Plans do differ based on how much data can be downloaded in a month before speeds are throttled. Many plans are differentiated by the amount of streaming, music, or gaming content that is included and by offering discounts for home Internet (Fixed Wireless Access where available for sale)," they added.

Broadly, the analysts noted that AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile mostly follow each other exactly in terms of pricing strategies, although AT&T offers one plan that only connects to its 4G network, with 5G priced extra. The analysts do not consider Verizon's charging strategy, which reserves faster 5G speeds for more expensive unlimited plans, to be outside their parameters.

The analysts pointed out that the situation is quite different in other countries. In Australia, for example, Optus and TPG/Vodafone offer different speeds at different prices, though all operators there offer unlimited data. Meanwhile, in Finland, all operators offer faster speeds on more expensive 5G service plans, starting at 200 Mbit/s. In Germany, most operators offer 5G across all their plans but provide different amounts of data usage at different prices.

In many cases, such pricing strategies evolve from operators' network or spectrum positions. For example, companies with plenty of spectrum might charge extra for faster 5G services. But those without such resources might charge extra for data usage in an effort to reduce customers' data volumes.

"Monetization is all over the map, so to speak," summarized the BofA Global Research analysts.

— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano

About the Author(s)

Mike Dano

Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading

Mike Dano is Light Reading's Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies. Mike can be reached at [email protected], @mikeddano or on LinkedIn.

Based in Denver, Mike has covered the wireless industry as a journalist for almost two decades, first at RCR Wireless News and then at FierceWireless and recalls once writing a story about the transition from black and white to color screens on cell phones.

See more from Mike Dano

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