Ericsson has teamed up with Orange Poland to give the operator’s customers a foretaste of 5G by switching on the country’s first live urban 5G test network in Warsaw.

Operating on a government-granted test license on the 3.4 - 3.6GHz band, the test network has been set up between nine sites in the Ochota and Powiśle districts of the Polish capital.

Orange Poland has made more than 100 5G smartphones and routers available for invited customers to test and experience 5G download speeds of up to 900Mbps.

The operator expects to roll-out commercial 5G in Poland in 2020 - 2021, following the acquisition of the necessary 5G spectrum.

Jean-François Fallacher, CEO, Orange Poland, says: “Today we are one step closer to launching the Polish fifth generation mobile network. We are technologically ready for this challenge. After more than a year of trials in laboratories and in the field, we have launched a network operating in the capital city.”

Martin Mellor, Head of Ericsson Poland, says: „Ericsson has been leading worldwide 5G rollout and now we’re bringing the same technology to the heart of Warsaw. Our collaboration with Orange Poland, together with our ongoing investment across Poland, contributes to a wave of 5G innovation making Poland one of the leading nations for 5G in Europe.”

The Swedish giant Ericsson has been gaining its experience in implementiation of 5G on its home market. As Europe’s 5G leader, Ericsson has received from the European Investment Bank 250 mln euro loan for research and development of 5G technology. In fact, the 5G development program  remains an important part of the policy of all Scandinavian countries. In 2018, prime ministers of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland have signed a latter of intent to create conditions required for the rise of the 5G technology.