It's been ten years since the 4G network was launched and now it's time for the next generation - 5G. In Stockholm it will be available on Sunday, while it will be until June 24 before it becomes available in Gothenburg and Malmö.

- I am extremely proud that we are opening the gates to what will be Sweden's first real 5G network, says Anders Nilsson, CEO of the Tele2 Group in a press release.

Race to be first

On Monday, Telia and Ericsson will hold a press conference to present their first 5G networks. However, Staffan Åkesson, technical manager at Telia, claims that it is Telia and Ericsson who are the first to launch 5G networks in Sweden, and that the operator has had 10 active sites in Stockholm since April 24 this year.

- It's a race and everyone wants to be first with something, but we've been alive for several weeks, says Staffan Åkesson, technical manager at Telia.

But the Telia customers who now have a 5G phone have to wait a little longer before they can actually start using the new technology.

- Customers with 5G phones will not be able to use the functions until 19 June at the earliest, and then it is in Stockholm, says Staffan Åkesson, technical manager at Telia.

In June, Tre Sverige also launches 5G in Malmö, Lund, Helsingborg, Västerås, Uppsala and in the western parts of Stockholm.

Special technology is required   

But in order to gain access to the technology it is necessary to have a mobile phone with 5G capacity, which most mobile phones today lack.

- It's about being able to achieve higher top speeds, and the response time is even shorter. It enables a lot of services that you have only been able to do via fixed networks before, which now also goes via the mobile network, Tele2's network manager Björn Lindberg tells TT.

Important for the industry

Jens Zander, professor of radio engineering at KTH, said in an interview with TT earlier this year that the average user will not notice any major differences in the change to 5G initially.

In the main, it is the industry, in the form of connected gadgets, self-driving cars and more that will need the more powerful network, what has come to be called the Internet of Things. Even very densely populated regions in Asia with capacity shortages in the networks, will benefit more from 5G - in Sweden we have a good way to go before the ceiling is reached, according to Jens Zander.

Neither does 5G contribute to better coverage in places where the connection is already defective.

"The haircut is in town that you get the most from the new technology," said Jens Zander.