Hutchison Drei Austria has partnered ZTE to deploy what they say is Austria’s first operational 5G network, for businesses in the city of Linz.
Working with Chinese vendor ZTE, Hutchison Drei Austria has activated 20 5G sites, creating “the first ever continuous 5G coverage throughout an Austrian city”. Previous 5G tests in Austria have consisted of one 5G site only, the partners point out.
Selected business customers of Hutchison Drei Austria have received ZTE’s 5G kit to test-drive the network.
The companies claim they are also the first in the country to implement the latest industrial 5G network standard.
Austria’s 5G race is on
Hutchinson Drei Austria is aiming for full 5G coverage in Linz and other regions throughout Austria and CEO, Jan Trionow, CEO, has extended an invitation for businesses, institutions and municipalities throughout Austria to contact his company with project ideas.
He commented, “Other providers are just ‘5G ready’ or have upgraded individual transmission masts across Austria. Today we are launching the first true contiguous 5G network worthy of the name.
While the others only talk about the future, in Linz it is already a reality today. The race for the 5G leadership in Austria is officially opened.”
Last month, Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta Telekom (a merger between T-Mobile Austria and UPC Austria) announced that it was introducing “5G ready” phone plans to prepare for the launch of commercial 5G services.