Yettel has become the first company in Hungary – and in the world – to launch its 'standalone' 5G technology, the most advanced of the 5G network, the company told MTI on Monday.

It said that while the currently deployed 5G networks still rely on 4G to build the connection, the newly launched standalone 5G already has all elements of the mobile connection running on 5G and uses only the frequencies dedicated to 5G. This development will bring many of the benefits of the 5G standard to fruition, including significantly shortening network response times, further increasing available download and upload speeds and enabling the introduction of additional new digital services," they said.

Yettel Hungary will start a comprehensive network modernization project in 2021, which will include a complete renewal of not only the antennas serving the network, but also the so-called core network connecting them. As a result of the tens of billions of forints investment, the capacity of the 4G network with nationwide coverage has increased to 2-3 gaps, and paved the way for the roll-out of a true high-speed 5G network.

The innovation is based on the fact that the public 5G networks in Hungary have so far been based on 4G technology, meaning that the previous technology was needed to build up 5G connectivity, which could also affect the availability of the 5G network. Thanks to the new technology, data traffic between devices and the network will be carried exclusively on the frequency and core network optimized for 5G, enabling the full potential of the 5G standard to be exploited.

Yettel's standalone 5G service is now available at almost 700 base stations nationwide, first for Yettel's 5G-enabled home and office internet subscribers. It is already available to some subscribers, and full access for home and office internet subscribers will be rolled out on a scheduled schedule until the end of Q1 2024, which will include optimizing network performance to ensure a good customer experience. The roll-out of standalone 5G on smartphones is expected for the rest of next year.

It was also noted that Óbuda University and Yettel signed a strategic partnership agreement in November 2022, under which the mobile operator set up a 5G network on the campus of Óbuda University in Bécsi út, and provided the university with SIM cards and terminal equipment for development and testing purposes. The partners have also entered into cooperation on training and recruitment. With the launch of the stand-alone 5G, the latest technology is now available on the university's network, which is accessible only to the university's staff, researchers and students. PPF Telecom Group is one of the leading telecom operators in the Central and Eastern European region, which includes the telecom company Yettel and the telecom infrastructure company CETIN. The group is present in five countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Serbia) and provides mobile, fixed, data and internet TV services. It has 18 million mobile customers in the region, 1.1 million fixed broadband subscribers and more than 700.000 Pay TV customers. The group has a total of 12.700 employees.