Vodafone has launched what it claims is the first commercial 5G network in Ireland.
The company has made the network live in five locations, Cork, Limerick, Dublin, Galway and Waterford, and plans to expand the network throughout the country over the coming months. Originally, telecoms in Ireland expected 5G service to come to the country in 2021, so this announcement shows how the technology has accelerated.
Vodafone used Ericsson’s Baseband 6630 and Air 6488 products for the deployment. Launch of service was made during a mixed-reality demonstration at Vodafone’s global center of internet of things.
The launch of service to Ireland brings a total of 40 cities in which Vodafone has rolled out 5G service to, in European countries including Germany, Spain, Italy and the U.K. Previously, the company introduced service in the U.K to cities including London, Liverpool, Bristol and Manchester.
This acceleration of 5G deployment is taking place much faster than many industry experts anticipated and faster than any previous generation of wireless cellular technology. All major telecoms in the U.S., South Korea and the U.K. have deployed initial services, with broader coverage expected over the near future.
