On January 12, a pilot launch of fifth-generation mobile communications began in the central part of Lviv. The key advantage of the technology is a significantly higher data transfer speed — about 500 Mbps for one subscriber. According to the words of the Minister of Digital Transformation, Lviv is turning into a technological laboratory where all technical aspects will be worked out before scaling 5G to the entire country.
Mykhailo Fedorov noted that the city has one of the highest levels of distribution of smartphones ready to work in 5G networks in Ukraine. Currently, more than 20 base stations of the new standard have already been built in Lviv. He also emphasized that after receiving the necessary approvals from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and successfully completing testing, the pilot will be expanded. 5G should be launched in Borodyanka in January, in Kharkiv in February, and later in other Ukrainian cities.
“We planned to fully launch the technology in 2022, but the full-scale war forced us to postpone these plans for security reasons. At the same time, we did not stop working. The launch of the 5G pilot is the result of systematic cooperation between the state, business and the military,” Mykhailo Fedorov recalled.
According to him, the start of testing is a clear signal to the world that Ukraine continues to move towards the technological future.
The pilot project is being implemented by Vodafone. The testing area covers the most populated locations in Lviv – the historical city center, adjacent neighborhoods and the territory of the Lviv Polytechnic National University. In the near future, 5G coverage will also appear at the Main Railway Station. The network operates in test mode in the 3500 MHz range, and preliminary tests will continue until the end of 2026.
Using 5G does not require connecting additional services: traffic is charged according to the current LTE/4G conditions. If the SIM card and smartphone support 5G and the appropriate network type is selected in the settings, the device will automatically connect to 5G in the coverage area. SIM cards that work in 4G are also compatible with the new technology – just check the presence of the 4G or LTE mark on the smartphone screen.
