Sunrise has launched a 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) service in Switzerland, in partnership with Huawei.
Through the new FWA service, residential customers, as well as SMEs, will be able to access high-speed internet services without needing a fibre connection.
Sunrise said it is aiming to close the digital divide with its ‘5G for people’ strategy. According to the latest statistics from the Fibre to the Home Council, Switzerland has FTTH penetration rate of 7.8%, ranking below many other European and global countries. Latvia tops the rankings in Europe with a 50.3% FTTH penetration rate, for example.
The Swiss operator is using Huawei’s 5G end-to-end network products and terminals.
Olaf Swantee, CEO, Sunrise, said, “With Huawei’s innovative 5G solution and global hands-on 5G deployment experience, we are strongly confident [we can] provide the best user experience to our customers that underpins our position as the No.1 5G provider in Switzerland.”
Sunrise also plans to launch a 5G smartphone and 5G HD IPTV services in 2019.
Allaying 5G fears
Switzerland’s 5G auction closed in February, with Swiss operators Salt, Sunrise and Swisscom each taking a share of the available spectrum.
As 5G roll-outs begin in Switzerland, Swisscom was recently moved to publish a 5G ‘fact check’ in the face of growing “misinformation” and consumer concerns around issues such as high-frequency 5G radiation killing birds, the use of 5G by the military as a weapon, and 5G causing cancer.
Swisscom said its summary of the issues will be regularly updated.
Swisscom spokesman Christian Neuhaus told Swiss public television: “The frequencies are the same as what we’ve been using for years. They’ve been analysed in thousands of studies and not one has managed to prove scientifically that there’s a serious risk to health.”
Swisscom plans to roll 5G out to 60 towns and cities by the end of this year.