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lifecell announced the expansion of the list of countries where 5G is available to its subscribers. Currently, this list includes 47 countries.

In which countries does lifecell operate 5G in roaming

From May 2023, lifecell subscribers will have access to 5G roaming internet – at the start, the service was offered in Bulgaria, Austria, Finland and the Dominican Republic, and now the operator provides this option for lifecell roamers in 47 countries (if the smartphone supports this standard).

1. Australia
2. Austria
3. Argentina
4. Belgium
5. Bulgaria
6. Great Britain
7. Hong Kong
8. Greece
9. Denmark
10. Dominican Republic
11. Estonia
12. Israel
13. Iceland
14. Spain
15. Italy
16. Kazakhstan
17. Canada
18. Qatar
19. China
20. Cyprus
21. Kuwait
22. Latvia
23. Lithuania
24. Luxembourg
25. Liechtenstein
26. Malta
27. Netherlands
28. Germany
29. Norway
30. United Arab Emirates
31. Oman
32. Portugal
33. Romania
34. Saudi Arabia
35. Singapore
36. Slovakia
37. Slovenia
38. Taiwan
39. Thailand
40. Turkey
41. Hungary
42. Finland
43. France
44. Croatia
45. Czech Republic
46. Switzerland
47. Sweden

lifecell also shared some statistics on the usage of the 5G roaming service:

• Since May 2023, almost 200,000 people have used it.
• The top 5 countries where the most lifecell subscribers use 5G are Germany, Romania, the Czech Republic, Spain and Turkey.
• The largest number of GB per 5G subscriber in Germany is about 14 GB, followed by Turkey with almost 10 GB, and the Netherlands with 9 GB.

The list of the most popular smartphones on which lifecell subscribers use 5G deserves special attention – iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 14. The most popular 5G model among Android users is the Galaxy A53.

Lifecell directly admits that these high rates of mobile Internet consumption in roaming are influenced, among other things, by the possibility to use gigabytes under the “Gigabytes without borders” promotion within the “home” tariff without additional surcharges.

Sale of lifecell, European roaming at home tariffs and 5G prospects in Ukraine.

A few more important points remain to be mentioned. As for lifecell, since December 2023, the third Ukrainian mobile operator by the number of subscribers is in the final stages of selling NJJ Capital to the French billionaire Xavier Niel — the closing of the transaction is expected by September 2024 (the delay is connected with the seizure of a share of corporate rights that is indirectly owned subsanctions. and Kosogov), and then it is quite likely to merge with “Datagroup” and Volia.

In February, the Council supported the draft law on a single roaming zone with the EU, and Ukraine became one step closer to the free roaming zone of the EU on a permanent basis. When the changes are finally approved, Ukrainians will be able to make calls and use mobile internet at home rates while traveling in Europe without changing the SIM card and additional fees. Currently, free roaming for Ukrainians in the European Union operates thanks to a separate agreement between Ukrainian and European operators.

As for the terms of the full-fledged launch of 5G in Ukraine, they are not yet available (even approximate). In short: do not wait for the fifth generation in the next few years, despite the pilot launch of 5G in Ukraine in 2024 announced by the head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs in September 2023 and the recent tests of 5G base stations by Kyivstar specialists, which CEO of lifecell Ismet Yaziji in a recent interview.

Ukrainian operators with Ericsson and other major telecommunications equipment manufacturers deployed 5G demo segments and tested equipment as part of preparations long before the war (1, 2, 3). We can also mention the postponement of the 5G tender due to a lack of government funding and other obstacles even before the full-scale invasion of Russia.

Considering the extent of the destruction of Ukraine’s telecom infrastructure as a result of Russian aggression, the lack of 4G coverage and uninterrupted communication in a large part of Ukraine, the deployment of full-fledged 5G networks in Ukraine will not become a priority after the victory and remains a distant prospect for now. The transition to 5G is a huge investment, the need to update legislation, align it with EU regulations, including equipment safety, release radio frequency resources for 5G communication, as well as equipment certification for infrastructure development. There is no manufacturer of 5G equipment in Ukraine, and its purchase for foreign currency from Chinese suppliers, taking into account the current realities, does not look rational. So it might be better to skip that 5G and immediately implement 6G, as Dmytro Shimkiv once proposed to do with 4G.

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