Ericsson and RCS&RDS have launched Romania's first 5G commercial service in the busiest parts of Bucharest, where 5G can really make a difference by providing increased speeds for mobile broadband to businesses and consumers.

DIGI | RCS&RDS is deploying Ericsson's 3GPP standards-based 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software. Built on top of DIGI's 4G network, the enhanced mobile broadband capabilities enable customers to connect to both 4G and 5G simultaneously to get the best possible experience even in the most crowded areas, depending on the compatibility of the terminal with 5G technology.

Starting on June 27th, customers can make pre-orders on digiromania.ro to purchase terminals compatible with 5G, VoLTE and VoWiFi technology. This first phase of DIGI's 5G rollout is a Non-standalone (NSA) deployment focused on using the combined power of 4G and 5G. In the coming weeks, DIGI and Ericsson will activate more 5G radios and base stations in the capital of Bucharest and the city of Cluj-Napoca.

Valentin Popoviciu, Vice President DIGI| RCS&RDS, says: "In 2018, Digi | RCS&RDS took the first step towards 5G, testing the functionality of this technology on a prototype platform. Today, we are experimenting the capabilities of Digi Mobil5G Smart network, with the commissioning of the first station in our network, in one of the busiest areas of the capital. As usual, our promise is that we will serve our customers with reliable and affordable mobile data services, including 5G, in selected areas in Bucharest and other big cities of Romania already in 2019."

Romania plans to start spectrum auction for additional spectrum needed for 5G wireless networks in the fourth quarter of 2019. DIGI can already start offering initial 5G services through its already available commercial spectrum within the 3.6 – 3.8 GHz band.