Networking and telecommunications company Ericsson and incumbent telco Telekom Slovenije launched the first commercial 5G network in Slovenia, Ericsson said on August 12.

The 5G rollout commenced on July 23, a week after the contract signing. The upgrade of the country’s existing 4G networks to 5G puts Slovenia on the map of the most digitally advanced countries.

“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,” Ericsson said in the statement.

Under the 5G contract, Ericsson is supplying Telekom Slovenije with RAN and Packet Core solutions.

Initial 5G services are available in major cities across Slovenia, covering an estimated 25% of the population with the intention of expanding 5G coverage to 33% of the population by the end of 2020.

“Our gradual 5G rollout strategy, launching 5G on 2600 MHz band as a first step, is the best choice with best possible rollout of coverage and capacity in 2020 and beyond,” chief technology officer of Telekom Slovenije Matjaz Bericic said.

“Working together, we will harness our unique ability to roll out 5G quickly in Slovenia and give a third of the entire population access to 5G already by the end of the year,” Ericsson’s president of Europe and Latin America Arun Bansal underlined.