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© ” A1 Bulgaria ”
Mobile operator A1 announced on Friday (November 20) that it has “officially launched the first true 5G network in the country.” It covers a significant part of Sofia, where it can already be tested. And by December 15, Burgas should become “the first fully 5G city in Bulgaria” with 90% coverage of the 5G network, the announcement added.
It explicitly states that the network is 5G base stations and operates in the 3.6 GHz spectrum, which is different from dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS). Competitive Vivacom announced its DSS-based 5G limited test network in September, which is a type of software solution suitable for a transition period when 5G frequencies have not yet been distributed in Bulgaria.
A1 also announces an investment of more than BGN 780 million in the development of a 5G network over the next four years. Together with our 5G network, the entire economy of the country will be able to develop, said Alexander Dimitrov, CEO of A1 Bulgaria. “A1 was the first to showcase 5G capabilities in the country in early 2018, and today we have launched a real working 5G network … We initially launched 5G in Sofia and Burgas, but by the end of the first quarter of 2021 our network fifth generation covers all settlements with more than 10,000 inhabitants, “the statement was quoted as saying.
Krassimir Petrov, who is the director of A1 networks, explained to Dnevnik that this means that by April 2021 this network will only be installed, tested and awaiting a CRC license to operate. After receiving this license, the telecommunications company will open its 5G networks for mass use with subscription plans. The Communications Regulatory Commission (CRC) has postponed 5G competitions to 2021 and this is expected to happen in the first quarter.
For the network
A1 also reports that their network allows for gigabit broadband access and very low latency. The company also attached a photo of an application to test the speed of wireless Internet, showing 1,161 megabits per second for downloading and 129 megabits per second for uploading information. This is many times more than the current 4G networks of the country’s mobile operators.
What does it mean to test?
The network is available for testing until January 15 by telecommunications subscribers for mobile services (without prepaid and bob) and compatible with 5G devices, for which they must request access via SMS, after which the operator verifies if the device is suitable, within 24 hours. allows testing (until January 15), but can be denied under certain conditions.
The objective of the campaign is to explain by telecommunications the technical possibilities of the network and to support its construction, and “by using mobile internet within the tests, the participant spends the megabytes included in their rate plan.”
The equipment
The equipment with which the new A1 network was built belongs to Nokia, confirmed Krassimir Petrov. This means that the company should have no problems with the agreement signed at the end of October with the United States, with which Bulgaria joined the Clean Network initiative. Bulgaria’s concrete decisions for its implementation are yet to come, but its aim is to exclude Chinese suppliers of communication equipment from new generation networks.
Over the next four years, A1 will invest more than BGN 780 million in its network.
CEO of A1 Bulgaria
The new A1 network supports the use of terminal devices from all manufacturers, the company added. “We are gradually integrating different models from Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi, OnePlus, followed by Samsung and Apple in the coming weeks.” This list includes the four leading mobile phone retailers in the world, but testing is only possible for those models that enable 5G. In the early days, some subscribers may have to wait for their devices to integrate.
