Telekom Slovenije on Thursday announced that it is the first Slovenian operator to launch 5G network nationally by using existing base stations and the 2600 MHz frequency spectrum it already utilizes for its 4G network.
In the first phase, Telekom Slovenije has so far upgraded 150 base stations, providing approximately 25% coverage with the 4G/5G network. By the end of the year, the company expects to surpass 33% coverage. Telekom Slovenije will soon introduce mobile phones that support the 4G/5G network and the commercial terms and conditions for using it, after the first vendors complete all the required software updates.
The development of the 5G network as an evolutionary upgrade to 4G is a complex and long-term technology project, which requires advanced network technology, and knowing and testing the whole network chain: antennae systems, base stations, transfer systems, aggregation and core networks, services and terminal equipment which has been making its way to the market. Consequently, a detailed knowledge of 4G technologies is essential in the introduction of 5G, and Telekom Slovenije has the advantage of being the only Slovenian operator actively involved in European and Slovenian 5G development projects.
Telekom Slovenije said its 5G network currently operates on frequency bands used for existing mobile networks, which have been operational for decades, and are proven to be safe from the perspective of electromagnetic waves. With increasingly advanced technologies, these operate with minimum transmission powers.
Tomaz Seljak, President of Management Board of Telekom Slovenije
5G will usher in the development of new business models and innovative ICT solutions with high added value, and bring about new technological breakthroughs (supported with artificial intelligence), advanced multimedia services, virtual and augmented reality, and continued development of solutions related to the internet of things and the digitalisation of the whole society.
Matjaž Beričič, Management Board member and CTO of Telekom Slovenije
We have been systematically preparing for this for a long time, and in this first step of implementing 5G we utilized the existing frequency spectrum as much as possible, even though the bandwidth is too limited for full-fledged 5G deployment.
