Vodafone Spain has substantially increased the download speed of its Vodafone One Conecta service for homes without fiber or ADSL access, according to a report. The plan comes with unlimited broadband data via a 4G/LTE modem, at prices starting from €28.49 a month, including unlimited calls.

Subscribers were previously able to connect at 30 Mbps but maximum download speeds have now been hiked to 150 Mbps for the €28.49 (US $33.29) a month service (rising to €56.99 or US $66.59 after 3 months) and 300 Mbps for the €34.99 (US $40.88) a month option (rising to €69.99 or US $81.77 after 3 months).

Tarifica’s Take

Wireless routers for home internet connection have long been a standard workaround for homes that lack access to cable internet. However, it has generally been seen as a second-best solution rather than something that users would choose purely on the basis of its merits. Vodafone Spain’s new offering, however, boasts some extremely high maximum speeds, and if those materialize in real-world conditions, the offering is quite persuasive on its own account.

With maximum download speeds jumping from 30 Mbps to 150 or even 300 Mbps, subscribers will have access to speeds that approach or equal those promised by 5G. And that raises a point of interest, namely, that in their quest for market share, 5G networks have to contend with the fact that 4G/LTE in many cases is already very competitive. Granted, this is a home Wi-Fi service rather than a mobile handset service, but the new increased speeds come via 4G/LTE signals. This very appealing offer carries within it an implicit note of caution for mobile operators: To get 5G to the point of full utilization, they will have to make sure to differentiate it from 4G as much as possible.