Vodafone Ukraine has switched on its 5G network in Odesa for open testing. The network went live on September 10 across the city center, from Prymorskyi Boulevard to Kulykove Pole, the mobile operator said in a press release. Any subscriber with a 5G-ready SIM card and handset can use it.
Coverage spans eight locations downtown. Along with Prymorskyi Boulevard and Kulykove Pole, the network reaches Derybasivska, Koblevska and Starosinna streets, plus Soborna, Hretska and Pryvokzalna squares.
5G delivers noticeably higher data speeds than earlier mobile standards. Vodafone says subscribers inside the coverage area get steadier video calls, better streaming and faster apps. The company also topped a separate ranking from Ookla for home internet in Ukraine earlier this month.
Olha Ustynova, CEO of Vodafone Ukraine, calls 5G more than a new connectivity standard, describing it as the next stage of the country’s digital infrastructure. “Every new launch gives us the practical experience we need to scale the technology in the future,” she said.
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To mark the launch, the operator is opening an interactive installation called Future You. It runs from September 10 to 21 at the Afiny shopping mall on Hretska Square. Visitors can create an AI-generated avatar of themselves, talk to it in real time and download its photo to their phone.
5G costs nothing extra. Data is billed at the same rate as 4G under the subscriber’s current plan. There is no add-on service to buy and no reason to change tariff plans. If the SIM card and the phone support 5G and the right network mode is selected, the device connects automatically. Dialing *222# shows whether a SIM and handset are 5G-ready.
Odesa is the latest step in the operator’s open testing program. Vodafone has already switched on 5G in Lviv, Borodianka, Kharkiv and every administrative district of Kyiv.
More than 1.5 million unique customers have used those networks over the past six months. The highest speed recorded at a base station under real-world load came close to 2 Gbps, according to the operator.
