Vodafone - Italy

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Vodafone
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Italy Flag of Italy View country details


Vodafone (Italy) uses 2 GSM bands, 7 LTE bands, and 2 5G NR bands. Find out if your unlocked phone or mobile device will work with Vodafone (Italy). See the tables below for details.

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Carrier website: http://www.vodafone.it/

Last updated: 2024/08/04 - See latest updates

Vodafone Italy offers a comprehensive mobile network with extensive coverage across the country. Here are some key points about their mobile network:

  1. Coverage and Speed:

    • Vodafone Italy has a robust 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G network coverage, with detailed maps available on nPerf.com that show the coverage in various regions of Italy, including major cities like Rome, Milan, and Naples.
    • According to Opensignal, Vodafone users experience the fastest average overall download speeds, clocking in at 37.2 Mbps, and the fastest average overall upload speeds, at 11 Mbps.

  2. Network Sharing Partnership:

    • Vodafone Italy has entered into a network sharing partnership with Telecom Italia Group (TIM) for 4G and 5G networks. This partnership aims to enhance the rollout of 5G technology and reduce costs by combining their tower portfolios.

  3. Rural Connectivity:

    • Vodafone Italy has been actively working to bridge the digital divide by bringing mobile broadband networks to rural areas. For example, they have connected the town of Bobbio in Northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region using Fixed Wireless Access 5G technology, improving internet access and voice call quality for residents and local businesses.

  4. User Experience:

    • Opensignal reports that Vodafone users have the most consistent experience in Italy, with 81.8% of tests meeting the minimum recommended performance thresholds for common demanding applications like watching HD video. Vodafone also wins both consistency awards for the third time in a row.

  5. Availability Metrics:

    • Vodafone users spend a significant proportion of their time connected to the network, with a score of 98.7% for availability, indicating a high level of network connection time.

Overall, Vodafone Italy's mobile network is known for its strong coverage, high speeds, and consistent user experience, making it a reliable choice for both urban and rural areas.

Frequency Bands

GSM

Name Interface Description
900 MHz (E-GSM) GSM

Vodafone Italy uses the GSM 900 MHz (E-GSM) frequency band. This band operates on the interface of 880.0 – 915.0 MHz for the uplink and 925.0 – 960.0 MHz for the downlink. The supported protocols include GPRS (2.5G) and EDGE (2.5G).
1800 MHz (DCS) GSM

Vodafone Italy uses the GSM 1800 MHz (DCS) frequency band. This band was deployed in the early 1990s, marking a significant milestone in Italy's transition to modern mobile telephony.

Supported GSM Protocols

Name Generation
GPRS 2.5G
EDGE 2.5G

LTE

Name Interface Description
B3 (1800 MHz +) LTE

Vodafone Italy uses LTE band B3 (1800 MHz +) for its 4G network. This band is part of the carrier's LTE frequency allocation, contributing to its comprehensive 4G coverage across Italy.
B20 (800 MHz DD) LTE

Vodafone Italy uses LTE B20 (800 MHz DD) for its LTE network deployments. This frequency band is particularly known for its wide area coverage and deep penetration, making it suitable for regional and rural environments, as well as in-building coverage. It is also popular for IoT applications like eMTC (LTE Cat M1) and NB-IoT (LTE Cat NB1) due to its wide coverage characteristics. The 800 MHz band does not easily support Massive MIMO and beamforming technologies due to its large wavelength. It can be used as a single band or as part of a multi-band network, and it supports carrier aggregation with other bands to enhance bandwidth and performance.
B1 (2100 MHz) LTE

Vodafone Italy uses LTE band B1 (2100 MHz). This band is used for LTE deployments in various regions, including Europe. The deployment of this band is part of Vodafone's broader LTE network, which provides extensive coverage across Italy.
B7 (2600 MHz) LTE

Vodafone Italy uses LTE Band 7 (2600 MHz) as part of its LTE network. This band is defined for use in the frequency range of 2500 – 2570 MHz for the uplink and 2620 – 2690 MHz for the downlink. The available bandwidth for this band is 70 MHz. Vodafone Italy has deployed this band to support its LTE services, contributing to its comprehensive mobile network coverage across the country.
B8 (900 MHz) LTE

Vodafone Italy uses the LTE B8 (900 MHz) frequency band. The deployment of this band is not specified.
B28 (700 MHz APT) LTE

Vodafone Italy uses LTE Band 28, also known as the 700 MHz APT band, for its 4G LTE network. This band operates between 703 MHz and 803 MHz, with a duplex mode of Full-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (FDD). The uplink frequency range is 703–748 MHz, and the downlink frequency range is 758–803 MHz. The band supports channel bandwidths of 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz. It is widely used by public mobile operators for LTE network deployments due to its excellent propagation characteristics, which allow signals to penetrate buildings and cover larger geographic areas with less infrastructure.
B32 (1500 MHz L-band) LTE

Vodafone Italy does not use the LTE B32 (1500 MHz L-band).

Supported LTE Protocols

Name Generation
LTE 4G
LTE-A 4G

5G NR

Name Interface Description
N78 (3500 MHz) 5G NR

Vodafone Italy uses the 5G NR frequency band n78, which operates in the 3500 MHz range. This band is commonly referred to as the 3.5 GHz 5G band or C-band 5G. The deployment of this frequency band by Vodafone Italy was announced in 2019, with the service initially available in five cities: Milan, Rome, Turin, Bologna, and Naples. The service was later expanded to around 45 to 50 cities in 2019 and was expected to reach 100 cities by 2021.
N258 (mmWave 26 GHz) 5G NR

Vodafone Italy acquired the 26 GHz frequency band for 5G services. This spectrum will be used to deliver high-capacity services in densely populated locations such as city centers, sports stadiums, and industrial plants. The deployment of this band is expected to enhance the network's capacity and provide gigabit peak speeds, ultra-low latency, and high-reliability connectivity.

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