Telekom Slovenije has begun rolling out 5G technology for mobile phone users, Slovenia's biggest telecom operator said earlier this week.
In implementing 5G services, Telekom Slovenije is operating jointly with Sweden's Ericsson. Rather confusingly, the two companies signed a commercial contract last July and announced earlier this year that a 5G rollout had commenced within a week of the July 16th contract signing.
Built on existing infrastructure, the network does not cover the entire country; Telekom Slovenije expects to provide coverage to 33 percent of the population by the end of this year.
The new 5G services were switched on through a software installation to existing Ericsson radio system and packet core equipment, which will enable spectrum sharing between 4G and 5G on the 2600MHz FDD spectrum – traditionally used for 4G only. Under the terms of the 5G deal, Ericsson is supplying Telekom Slovenije with RAN and packet core solutions.
This would appear to be another example of 5G rollout using available resources well before an official auction of 5G spectrum. As for future spectrum needs, Slovenia had been planning an auction of 5G spectrum as early as June but has reportedly put back its target date to the end of 2020 due to delays in adopting the country’s revised Radio Frequency Spectrum Management Strategy.
