Ukrainian mobile operator lifecell has switched on a 5G test network in Odesa, running on 3500 MHz spectrum. Access is open to every subscriber with a compatible smartphone at no extra cost, the company said in a press release.
Odesa is the fifth city in the pilot, after Lviv, Borodianka, Kharkiv and Kyiv. lifecell turned on its Kyiv test network in July, also on 3500 MHz.
The share of 5G-capable phones on lifecell’s network keeps growing. It now stands at 35%, and in Odesa it reaches 41%. That is why the operator picked the city, one of Ukraine’s biggest tourist destinations. More subscribers get to try the technology, and lifecell gets data on how the network behaves when traffic swings with the season.
lifecell’s 5G subscribers currently use about 10 TB of data a day. Peak speed on the test network reaches 1.5 Gbps.
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Coverage in Odesa spans several of the city’s busiest spots. In the center that means parts of Sadova, Preobrazhenska, Hoholia, Havanna, Derybasivska, Hretska, Yevropeiska, Rishelievska, Italiiska, Lanzheronivska, Nina Strokata and Lech Kaczynski streets, plus Futurystiv Lane. The network also works in Arkadia and in the waiting hall of the Odesa railway station.
As in the earlier cities, the network runs on the NSA (Non-Standalone) standard. 5G handles the radio side only, while the existing 4G infrastructure manages the data exchange between phone and network. That speeds up the rollout, because it reuses what is already in place. Peak speeds top 1 Gbps, and average speeds run up to ten times higher than on LTE.
Signal strength depends on the location and on how dense the buildings are, and indoor access may be limited. Subscribers also need a USIM or eSIM, a phone that supports band n78 (3500 MHz), an up-to-date operating system and enough data left in their plan.
