Everything you need to know

In Slovakia, all four operators already offer their own 5G network, but coverage is still very limited. They focus mainly on Bratislava. In Slovakia, we have started the commercial operation of 5G networks since the end of 2019, when 4ka introduced its network in Banská Bystrica. However, so far it is only one transmitter with a range of several hundred meters.

Orange last

The last operator to officially launch 5G is Orange, in Banská Bystrica and Petržalka in Bratislava. According to the operator, the actual download speed may exceed 600 Mbit / s.

In order to use the network, you need an extra data package for which you pay extra. This does not only apply to the most expensive flat rate Go € 65, in which access to the 5G network is activated automatically. You can find more detailed information in the article Orange launches 5G network in Bratislava and Banská Bystrica.

Telekom launched 5G in December 2020

At the end of last year, Telekom also officially introduced the latest generation network. It is available for half of the entire territory of Bratislava in the following city districts:

• Devinska Nova Ves
• New city
• Parsley
• Podunajské Biskupice
• Ružinov
• Trnávka
• Vajnory
• Vrakuňa

15.10.2020

4ka and O2 have commercial operation of the 5G network

In October of this year, the O2 operator joined, which launched its network in 4 city districts of Bratislava. There are 10 transmitters in Petržalka, 3 have Dúbravka and Karlova Ves have 3 and Ružinov has two transmitters. Operators used the frequency bands they already had to start the networks.

The auction is competing for free frequencies

An auction is currently underway in which operators are competing for more free frequency bands. As the law does not allow the submission of information about this competition, we do not know which specific operators participated in the competition.

The auction was originally scheduled to close by the end of the first half of 2020, but was postponed. The problem was the letter from the SIS received by the Regulatory Office. It writes about the security risks of 5G networks. And so the competition was suspended. The auction competes mainly for the 700 MHz bands and the connected 1,800 MHz and 900 MHz bands. Slovakia also faces a fine due to the suspension of the auction.

Frequencies with the 700 mHz band should probably be available to operators by the end of this year, promised Andrej Doležal, Minister of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic.

5G in Slovakia: Will 2020 be 5G?

7.1.2020

When we predicted trends in the first days of the year, we mentioned that 2020 will probably be the year 5G in Slovakia. However, in order to plunge into the whirlpool of high-speed mobile Internet, we need, among other things, three main ingredients – a network, a smartphone with 5G support and a good reason to switch.

Network

A pioneer in the field of 5G in Slovakia is the operator 4ka, which at the end of 2019 launched the operation of a small but functional test network in Banská Bystrica.

We tested it on our own skin and it warmed us not only at a high speed of over 600 Mb / s, but also with a very low latency in common activities, such as watching videos on YouTube.

Theoretical speeds achievable with a 5G infrastructure should be between 50 Mb and 2 Gb / s. It is said that in the future it could even be up to 100 Gb / s.

An important advantage, however, is the already mentioned latency, ie the time response during which the network responds to your request to download content, which will then appear on the display of the mobile phone.

5G in Slovakia

First, a physical network of transmitters will have to be set up to cover the territory, costing hundreds of millions of euros. 5G has a more complex infrastructure than existing networks. Among other things, it is necessary, for example, to release the 700 MHz band from DVB-T television broadcasting, which took place as early as 2019.

3G and 4G will certainly continue to be available, so you can use them in places where 5G will have a weak signal.

Of course, Telekom is also preparing for the transition, which a year ago tested Massive MIMO technology, which multiplies the capacity resources for users and is a kind of intermediate stage between 4G and 5G.

The first 5G test was also performed by Orange in cooperation with Nokia in 2017. It plans to switch to a new network in the years 2020 to 2022.

We do not think that operators in this area will act as competitors. Even with regard to the huge volumes of investments, we expect their mutual cooperation, as well as cooperation with the state, which should support the development of 5G with subsidies.

Why do I want it?

Frankly, 4G LTE offers good parameters today. Speed ​​at a maximum of around 375 Mb / s, the response is not bad and signal coverage is constantly improving. So why move to a new generation of devices?

In addition to increasing speed, the 5G will also bring use in areas that you may not have thought of at all so far. Applications that use high-definition streaming will be able to take full advantage. It is not just about streaming video, but also other types of data.

The possibility of extremely fast mobile data transfers will certainly contribute to the rapid development of augmented reality (AR) applications. This includes not only games, but also practical apps with the ability to incorporate graphically demanding elements into the image, such as navigation.

Mobile virtual reality or autonomous vehicles could also be developed. For the “ordinary mortal”, however, the possibilities of everyday use will also be interesting. For example, download an episode of your favorite series in seconds in high definition, you’ll appreciate it.

And if you use video calls via Messenger or other similar services, uninterrupted transmission with virtually zero latency and high definition will certainly be a good argument for you in favor of 5G.

Smartphone with 5G in Slovakia

Samsung was the first to start selling 5G-enabled phones with more than half the market share, although not yet in our country. During 2019, more than 6.7 million Galaxy 5G devices were sold worldwide, which sounds like a good start.

In the higher class, it supports the new Galaxy S10 5G system, and not to mention that it is only for the wealthier, a slightly cheaper Galaxy A90 5G model has been added.

Finally, support is given to the Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G, which is also one of the first phones with a flexible display. In the summer of 2019, the 5G module also received the Note 10 series, and in 2020 we will see the arrival of the Galaxy Tab S6 5G tablet.

According to Samsung representatives, the year 2020 should be the year Galaxy 5G for the company. So we believe that the competition is quickly inspired so that by the time the 5G network is built in Slovakia, the offer of relevant equipment is already balanced.

In the area of ​​SIM cards, we will allegedly not have to be replaced and the existing ones should be enough to work in the 5G network.

5G as a scarecrow

Concerns about possible effects on the health of the population could slow down the advent of new technology. Not only the public, but also some scientists reportedly claim that radio frequency radiation within 5G networks could damage human DNA.

However, this is non-ionizing radiation, so no breaking of the genetic code, cancer growth and premature aging should occur. However, no scientific studies are yet known to support the potential hazard of 5G networks.

If we go to the point logically, we will find that the frequencies that 5G works on are already in use today. We have already mentioned the 700 MHz frequency, which is used in television broadcasting.

Therefore, no one probably doubts that this radiation is widely spread at a fairly high power, and we do not yet know that anything bad will cause anyone. Maybe except for the shocks from the evening TV news.

The 3.4 – 3.7 GHz carrier frequency has also been used for several years, for example for the telecommunications services of the SWAN operator. In principle, therefore, there will be nothing fundamentally new in the frequency range of 5G.

If we haven’t dispelled your concerns yet, we’ve discussed this issue in more detail in this article. Until we see the complete completion of the infrastructure and the full use of 5G, it is very likely that various researches on the topic of potential harmfulness will take place, so we will be surprised.