Swedish mobile operator Three has activated its 5G network in Malmö, Helsingborg, Lund, Västerås, Uppsala and large parts of Stockholm, the telco said in a release.
In December last year, the carrier had launched commercial 5G services in southern Stockholm.
The telco said that commercial 5G will be activated in Malmö and Lund on June 17, while the rest of the cities will have the new offering activated on June 22.
Three Sweden said that it now operates nearly 400 active 5G sites , half of which are located in Stockholm.
Three said that the new areas in Stockholm where the 5G service is available include Kungsholmen, Kista, Bagarmossen, Bromma and parts of Solna. The network is activated in Three Sweden’s existing spectrum. The operator said that “real 5G speeds” will be offered later this year once the National Post and Telecom Agency makes more and larger 5G frequency bands available to all operators.
“We have worked very hard to upgrade 4G masts to 5G during the winter and spring, and will not turn off the pace this summer. After the real 5G frequencies become available, we will expand and give our customers 5G in top class”, said Haval van Drumpt, CEO of Three Sweden.
“This is the first step where we use the frequency spectrum we already have access to. After the real 5G frequencies become available around the turn of the year, our customers will be able to get significantly faster speeds,” said Per Stigenberg, technical director at Three Sweeden.
“All 5G available today, including ours, will not reach the speeds that 5G will have when the new 5G frequencies are expanded. But since there are not so many services today that require 5G, you can in most cases do just as well with 4G and the upgraded 5G network, there is no significant difference,” van Drumpt said.
Three Sweden is currently offering a number of 5G devices including Huawei P40, Huawei P40 Lite 5G, Huawei P40 Pro, Xiaomi Mi 10 and Sony Xperia 1.
Three Scandinavia operates mobile networks in Sweden and Denmark. Three Scandinavia, which is part of the Three Group, is owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, which owns 60% of the company, and Swedish Investor AB, which owns the remaining 40%
The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) has said the auction of frequencies in the 2.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands is due to start on November 10, 2020. Interested operators will have time to submit application until June 30. The regulator plans to offer up to 15 nationwide licenses in the 3.5 GHz band, incorporating a maximum 320 megahertz of frequencies, and up to 80 megahertz in the 2.3 GHz range.
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