COSMOTE has launched commercial 5G networks in Athens, Thessaloniki, and other cities in Greece. The company said that in certain areas, the maximum network speeds exceed 1Gbps. The first video call via 5G network in the country took place at Maximos Mansion, between the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis, during their meeting with the CEO of Deutsche Telekom Group, Tim Höttges, the Head of Deutsche Telekom for Europe, Dominique Leroy and the Chairman & CEO of OTE Group, Michael Tsamaz.
Cosmetics, a fully owned subsidiary of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE), is the largest mobile network operator in Greece. OTE owns 100% of COSMOTEm but according to an agreement between the Greek government and Deutsche Telekom, the latter currently owns 40%.
OTE Group firmly supports the country’s digitalization and growth efforts, creating state-of-the-art technological infrastructure, and implementing complex ICT projects. OTE officials reiterated the company’s commitment to a four-year investment plan of 2 billion euros, mainly for 5G and FTTH networks. COSMOTE intends to cover the country’s highways with 5G connectivity, a total of 2,000 km of the country’s highways with 5G connectivity, until the end of 2023, as a prerequisite for the implementation of the “Connected highways” project.
COSMOTE 5G network
The COSMOTE 5G network is accessible to all COSMOTE subscribers, residential and business, without the extra charge and regardless of their mobile plan (prepaid, post-paid, cost control). The only prerequisite is to have a 5G device certified in the COSMOTE network. At the moment, such devices include Apple iPhone 12 mini, Apple iPhone 12, Apple iPhone 12 Pro, Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, Xiaomi Mi10T Pro, Xiaomi Mi10T, Xiaomi Mi10T Lite, Xiaomi Mi10 Pro, Xiaomi Mi10. In collaboration with the largest manufacturers, more and more devices will be certified, thus providing access to COSMOTE 5G.
Ericsson supplied the 5G equipment for the commercial launch of COSMOTE 5G. 5G base stations at 3.5GHz have been licensed and activated (with the already available spectrum), allowing ultra-high speeds that reach or exceed 1Gbps in selected parts of Athens, Thessaloniki, and other cities. At the same time, the technologically neutral band also used by COSMOTE 4G, contributes to the larger population coverage of COSMOTE 5G.
COSMOTE 5G will soon expand to more areas throughout Greece, while mobile Internet speeds and network latency will gradually improve. The population coverage is expected to exceed 50% by the end of 2021. COSMOTE has already signed agreements with foreign networks to provide its customers with 5G roaming services in selected E.U. countries. 5G roaming availability will constantly expand. The 5G network’s full potential will unravel with the integration of the new spectrum allocated to COSMOTE through the auction that was carried out by the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT).
5G Technology
5G requires fiber densification that would invite investment to build a high fiber count fiber optic network. 5G is not just the next generation of wireless technology. 5G initiates an era of extremely high speeds and unlimited possibilities. It is one of the fastest and most reliable technologies known today and in the future will radically change the way we live, work, and entertain ourselves, as it is designed to meet the ever-increasing technological demands with features that no other technology had until today.
In its full development, 5G will enable the provision and management of new interactive and smart services on all connected devices in almost real time. It can serve up to 1,000,000 devices per square kilometer and it offers maximum speeds of up to 10Gbps. The latency (network response time) will be as low as 1 millisecond, with 99.999% reliability. 5G will become a lever for the growth of the global economy, with applications in various sectors such as the industry, health, transportation, smart cities, education, entertainment, and more.
Post a Comment