Ericsson said it has powered the launch of Telekom Slovenije’s commercial 5G network in Slovenia on July 23, 2020.
Telekom Slovenije earlier said it is aiming to spend EUR 209.7 million in 2020 towards its Capex.
Telekom Slovenije faced high network loads and an increase in traffic in voice, data and video services during the first quarter of 2020. Telekom Slovenije sales dipped 2 percent to EUR 168.6 million. Its operating expenses fell 1 percent to EUR 159.2 million.
Telekom Slovenije switched on the new 5G services through a software installation to the existing Ericsson Radio System and Packet Core equipment which will enable spectrum sharing between 4G and 5G on the 2600MHz FDD spectrum.
Sweden-based Ericsson is supplying Telekom Slovenije with RAN and Packet Core solutions under the terms of the 5G deal.
Initial 5G services are available in major cities across Slovenia, covering an estimated 25 percent of the population. Telekom Slovenije aims to increase its 5G coverage to 33 percent of the population by end of 2020.
Matjaz Bericic, chief technology officer of Telekom Slovenije, said: “Mobile data traffic is growing exponentially, so we must ensure further development of our network in order to provide an excellent user experience with new emerging services and applications, including IoT.”
“We have been preparing for this deployment utilizing the existing frequency spectrum, knowing this new generation of technology is more spectrally efficient and can transfer far more data, as we strive for best spectrum utilization possible,” Matjaz Bericic said.
“Our gradual 5G rollout strategy, launching 5G on 2600 MHz band as a first step, is the best possible rollout of coverage and capacity in 2020 and beyond. Evolution of our network depends on new spectrum auction outcome, so we keep our options open for new possibilities,” Matjaz Bericic said.
Telekom Slovenije is also planning a 5G public mobile network in the form of campus networks, in which virtual dedicated networks for various verticals, such as energy, transport, logistics, industry, smart cities, health, public safety and critical services are provided within one physical infrastructure.
