Plus is building a nationwide 5G network in Poland

Date: 
09 Nov 2020

The true 5G network coverage offered by Plus will be available to over 11 million inhabitants of Poland

Plus is rolling out a 5G network in all present and former provincial capitals and their neighboring areas. Over 150 cities and towns with a total population of more than 11 million will be within the coverage footprint of Plus’s 5G network operating in 2600 MHz TDD frequency band. Thanks to this the inhabitants of these areas will gain access to the most advanced, superfast and reliable 5G Internet access service.

As a confirmation of its earlier announcements, Plus continues the roll-out of the fastest 5G network.

The first in Poland 5G network, using the spectrum from the 2.6 GHz TDD frequency band, was launched with the use of 100 transceivers in 7 cities in May 2020. It offers data transfer speeds of up to 600 Mbps. The observations gathered from several months of user experience and the best results that were achieved during 5G speed tests, as compared to other operators, have resulted in the decision to expand the Plus 5G network coverage. The 7 cities, where 5G services are currently available, will be joined by further 150 cities and towns so that the fastest 5G Internet access service in Poland will be available to more than 11 million people.

“We offer the fastest 5G Internet access network in Poland. We are interested in providing access to this network to the possibly biggest number of Polish citizens in the shortest possible time,” says Jacek Felczykowski, a Management Board Member of Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel, the operator of Plus network. “Similarly as 10 years ago, when we were the first operator in Poland to launch the LTE network, also now we want to be first in providing access to the true 5G services to millions of Poland’s inhabitants.”

Plus 5G network roll-out– 11 million people and over 150 cities and towns within 5G network coverage in 2021

In 2021 Plus plans to offer 5G services using more than 1700 base stations in all present and former provincial capitals, as well as in many other towns and places.

Thus, next year more than 11 million people will be able to enjoy the services of the fastest in Poland 5G 2600 MHz TDD network.

More than 700 base stations and 5 million people living within the coverage area already in November 2020

According to the plan, by the end of November there should be over 700 base stations on air, assuring access to 5G technology to 5 million people.

The current list of the cities where Plus’s 5G services are offered, i.e. Warsaw, Lodz, Gdansk, Katowice, Poznan, Szczecin and Wroclaw, will be extended to include the inhabitants of other cities of the Silesian urban area, the Tri-City area (Gdansk-Sopot-Gdynia), Cracow, Bydgoszcz, Czestochowa, Olsztyn, Kielce, Radom, Torun, Zielona Gora, Opole, Gorzow Wielkopolski, and many more.

Further technologies and frequencies

Plus is also working on the development of 5G technology while using further radio frequencies and technologies. This will enable Plus to strengthen its position as the 5G technology leader in Poland in the future and offer the services to even more customers in even a bigger number of locations. We will keep you updated about our further decisions and actions in this area.

About the 5G 2600 MHz TDD technology

Plus’s 5G network is rolled out while using state-of-the-art infrastructure supplied by Nokia and Ericsson. Plus is the only operator on Polish market to have allocated a dedicated 2600 MHz frequency band using TDD technology for 5G operations, thus increasing the network’s throughput. The solution used for 5G network roll-out by the operator of Plus network is the world’s most advanced technology. The TDD communications technology enables data transmission while using one common chunk of spectrum for alternating in time downlink/uplink data transmission.

In the future, as 5G network develops, the use of the current 2600 MHz frequency band will assure better geographical coverage than when using only the spectrum from the 3400-3800 MHz frequency band, and it will enable the operator to maintain its competitive edge during further stages of 5G network roll out, by offering the possibility of carrier aggregation.

Equipment portfolio

The portfolio of the devices which support 5G technology is also expanded successively. The offer of terminals includes both, the flagship models as well as the mid-range devices - in November the offer will include around 20 smartphones and routers. This will increase the popularity of 5G services and make them available to a wide group of customers.

Last updated 11/09/2020