Finnish operator Elisa said that it will begin building a 5G-ready network in Turku and its surrounding area in March. Base station hardware that is currently used in the mobile network will be replaced with the latest technology. The should be finished by the end of May.

This means that in the future, it will be easy to add features required in 5G services to the network, such as considerably faster data transfer speeds, short delay and functionalities needed in the Internet of Things, said Juha Laukkanen, Elisa’s Regional Director for western Finland

Elisa has been testing equipment for 5G networks for two years. The latest test took place at the beginning of February, when augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications were tested in the first 5G network implemented with pre-commercial terminal devices.

Turku is the second city in Finland to have this extensive, modern network. The new mobile grid will immediately benefit people living in the area. It enables faster and more reliable connections for services such as sharing different kinds of content and large file, as well as watching videos and video-conferencing. The grid will create new business opportunities for companies in the region, too.

Elisa is participation in a project called Wise City Turku, run by the local council. It combines the objective of being a carbon-neutral region and the Smart City concept. Digitisation is an essential facilitator, as well as data produced by it.

During the network upgrade, there could be brief, localised service disruption.