The mobile operator Orange Slovensko has launched a high-speed 5G network in Slovakia. It is available for residents of Bratislava's Petržalka district and residents of a selected part of Banská Bystrica. It will be gradually expanded to other parts of Slovakia.
According to Alexandra Piskunová, Orange Slovakia spokeswoman, the arrival of the 5G network is successful completion of a large three-year investment in the modernization of the mobile network for 144 million euros.
A report by Forbes quoted Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, Orange Group's Deputy Director for Europe as saying: "The current crisis has shown us how important connectivity is for our economies. I am glad that Orange Slovakia has set out on a path that will enable it to bring new services and innovations to customers in the future."
The local media reports say that Orange currently offers 11 smartphones that support 5G: Huawei P40 Pro and Mate 40 Pro, OnePlus 9 Pro and Nord, the Samsung Galaxy S21 (5G, Plus 5G and Ultra 5G), and the Galaxy A32 5G, Xiaomi Mi10T Pro, Mi10T Lite and Wed11.
The operator will of course quickly expand its range of devices and there will be no shortage of 5G smartphones. The Samsung A32 5G is already the best-selling cell phone in its range, the reports pointed out.
"You don’t have to change the SIM card on your mobile phone. An older 3G or 4G SIM card is also sufficient," it said.
The 5G network from Orange promises customers high transfer speeds (at the level of 1300 Mbps for downloading and 130 Mbps for “uploading.” However, these are still only the maximum theoretical parameters, in reality, customers currently reach speeds of around 600 Mbps for downloading and about 70-80 Mbps when "uploading".