Tajik operator Tcell has activated its first 5G base stations in the city of Dushanbe.
The operator received a licence for 3500MHz spectrum in June last year, and its commercial 5G network is now live. Local news outlet Asia-Plus reported that Tcell has achieved download speeds of nearly 1Gbps – ten times faster than the top speed of its 4G network.
The operator’s CEO Ozodkhon Davlatshoev said: “We will create free test centres in the city so that people can test [5G] … There are already applications from our corporate clients who would like to use 5G right away. There are still restrictions on the consumer side … The technology is new, so the devices are expensive…full commercialisation of the project will take at least three to five years.”
The executive added that Tcell was investing in fibre infrastructure to support future 5G growth. CommsUpdate noted that the operator had not confirmed commercial 5G tariffs, but was offering customers the chance to win 5G devices with data allowances via its website.
Tcell is not the first operator to launch commercial 5G services in Tajikistan - in February this year, the local unit of MegaFon announced that customers with 5G-ready devices would be able to access 5G speeds in the centre of Dushanbe without paying a higher rate.
