5g icon without 5g sim

[MAP]

Is there anyone experiencing the 5g icon popping up on their s20 since the Aug 25th update with one ui 2.5? I'm on bell I have an LTE sim card not even a 5g one lol I was a bit surprised to see 5g on a lte advanced coverage no real 5g in my city? 

[Tallman]

Yes, I think Rogers are giving infinite plans 5G access free until next year Mar 2021. Then will charge 15/month. Also, Rogers for some reason gave me 10GB add-on for free as well.

Link is to earlier post discussion about 5G icon without 5G plan.

https://r1.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-S/Question-for-Rogers-possibly-Telus-Bell-also-S20U-owner...

[keagan]

Thanks for the information @Tallman.

[Zaptor]

You can access 5g using current sims, so bell probably started 5g in your city. Don't do a speed test as it will eat up your monthly limit.

[ctangabc]

This is actually a 5G connection, most carriers will have 5G connectivity until March 2021, on eligible plans in covered areas.

[Tallman]

So clearly, the 5G right now is base on LTE (I remembered CHMultimedia did mention it before). So, if carriers switch to real 5G network, I guess we may need to upgrade our SIM card for 5G.

[CHMultimedia]

5G NSA yaaaay!
But according to Ericsson (one of the major telecomms hardware vendor), there is no need for a specific 5G SIM to get access to 5G networks. Some features might not work, but you should be able to access the network normally with your current SIM. Of course, this depends on how your carrier does its business.
https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2020/1/5g-security-sim-card