Vodafone launches 5G trial site in the Docklands
November 26, 2018
Vodafone has launched Ireland’s first live 5G network site, open for trials in Dublin’s docklands, as well as a 5G start-up accelerator.
The network consists of a fully standardised Ericsson 5G system being deployed over Vodafone Ireland’s recently acquired 5G spectrum.
The move follows Vodafone’s first successful live demonstration of pre-standard 5G technology in Ireland last February, which achieved 15Gbps speeds with a latency of less than five milliseconds.
As part of the auction for the first slices of 3.6GHz spectrum – crucial to 5G – announced by ComReg last year, Vodafone obtained 85MHz in rural regions and 105MHz in cities.
Vodafone said will use this site to trial the latest 5G hardware, software and services as they become available in advance of 5G products hitting the market, and will continue to expand coverage in the area over the coming months.
The network site will be open to businesses that will be looking to validate new products or services that require high-speed 5G capabilities.