Andre Visse, technology manager at Telia Estonia, said the service uses a frequency resource which had already been used in mobile communication technology.

"Although frequency bands for 5G in the 3.5 GHz band have not been distributed yet, the development of technology enables us to offer 5G also over those frequencies already in use," Visse said. 

5G will start reaching end users in stages, being also underpinned by the ever growing availability of 5G devices, including that on smartphones.

The 3.5 GHz frequency auction due at the beginning of 2021 will give the company the possibility to further extend its network and add speeds, Visse went on.

The new service covers 10 locations, six in Tallinn, two in Tartu and two in Pärnu. Telia said it plans to extend its 5G network to 20 locations by the end of this year.

The Tallinn locations are: the Solaris shopping mall area; on Betooni, in Lasnamäe; Tallinn Creative Hub (Kultuurikatel), the Linnahall and Tallink SPA area; the area around Telia's Sõle head office; the area around Endla and in the vicinity of the Magistrali shopping mall in the Mustamäe district of Tallinn. 

In Pärnu, the locations are the areas of Rüütli and Suur-Jõe streets, whereas in Tartu the service will be available on Tähe, and shortly also on Vanemuise streets.

Telia's 5G network speeds at the moment reach up to 1 Gbps. When the 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz frequency bands are added, speeds can be increased to several Gbps.

Clients must have a device supporting 5G and a relevant mobile internet subscription with Telia to be able to use the 5G network, the company says.

Telia's partner in bringing 5G to end customers is Swedish mobile communications provider Ericsson.  

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