With many mobile phone discounters, innovations always arrive a little slowly. There are still many providers where 5G is not available. But the telecom discounter Congstar is changing that now. A corresponding 5G option is now available to customers here – for a surcharge.
As with the introduction of LTE, Congstar offers the use of the 5G network as an additional bookable option. This has advantages for existing customers, since they do not have to change their tariff and can simply upgrade instead. However, the 5G option offered by the Telekom discounter has some limitations that only partially justify the additional charge of 5 euros per month. TECHBOOK reveals what they are.
Is 5G worth it at Congstar?
The 5G option will be available at Congstar from June 27th for both existing and new customers. It can be booked for 5 euros per month on all Allnet flat rates and the Congstar X Homespot tariff. However, prepaid tariffs are still left out. The 5G option from Congstar does not change the data speed either. Customers continue to surf the Internet at a maximum of 25 Mbit/s with the Allnet Flat S tariff and with up to 50 Mbit/s with the Allnet Flat M and L offers. For comparison: Deutsche Telekom offers its customers up to 300 Mbit/s, but does not differentiate between 4G and 5G. So why switch to the 5G network at all?
Congstar himself writes that customers with the new 5G option benefit from faster response times, data transmission in almost real time and better surfing at festivals and concerts. However, this requires a compatible device. And in fact, the points mentioned are two of the main advantages of 5G compared to 4G – lower latency and thus faster response times as well as a much higher bandwidth and thus more stability and performance in the network. In addition, the 5G standard enables data transmission that is up to 10 times faster than LTE. However, all this only applies if customers have access to the independent 5G network. However, this is often not the case.
Also read: How can I tell if my smartphone is working in the 5G network?
Although the network operators are constantly expanding 5G in Germany, in many regions 5G is still based on the 4G infrastructure, which entails restrictions. The so-called Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) is used here, which allows the simultaneous use of 4G and 5G in the same frequency range. Although this has the advantage that customers with 5G tariffs can bypass busy networks and have better reception, they often do not yet have the advertised advantages of high speed and fast response. These are only available in the powerful but much less readily available 3.6 GHz frequencies that Telekom currently offers on 9,000 antennas throughout Germany (as of May 2023).
In everyday life, Congstar customers will hardly notice the upgrade to 5G. However, the option can be worthwhile in heavily used regions. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether that is worth the extra charge of 5 euros per month.
5G option at Congstar bookable on all Allnet flat rates
Congstar’s Allnet flat rates start at prices from 12 euros per month. It is a bit difficult to state how much data volume you get per tariff. Because the Telekom discounter keeps offering options where customers get extra data volume. Outside of these promotions, there are the following offers:
- Allnet Flat S with 3 GB for 12 euros
- Allnet Flat M with 10 GB for 22 euros
- Allnet Flat L with 15 GB for 27 euros
Congstar is probably aware that the data volume included by default is a bit low for the prices called. Therefore, the tariffs are hardly offered with these standard data. Just in time for the launch of the 5G option on June 27, the provider is upgrading its tariffs again and replacing the previous campaign with extra data. The data volume then increases to 22 GB in the Allnet Flat M tariff and to 32 GB in the Allnet Flat L tariff. The offer is permanent for bookings made by September 18th.
TECHBOOK means
“Finally, Congstar, as a mobile discounter, also offers a 5G option for all its all-network flat rates. This is not a matter of course and with many other cheap providers – if at all – only to be found with selected tariffs. It is also nice that the option can easily be booked on the existing contract. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether 5G is worth an extra charge of 5 euros. It would not be for me at the moment, because 5G in this way and with the limited speed currently brings me hardly any advantages. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Telekom is currently expanding the 5G network, so that the availability of real 5G with all its added value may soon look better. Then Congstar is at least prepared.” – Rita Deutschbein, Editor-in-Chief