Internet users in Romania could enjoy much higher speeds starting 2020, the year when the country’s first 5G network could become operational.

The Romanian Government is currently taking all the necessary steps to award the first 5G licenses in 2018 so that users can access these services from 2020, communications minister Augustin Jianu said on Monday, transmitting a message of Prime Minister Grindeanu, reports local News.ro.

Jianu attended on Monday the first live demonstration of the 5G technology in Southeast Europe, organized by Telekom Romania and Ericsson.

The new technology could offer Internet users much higher speeds than the 4G network, as it reached top speeds of 24 Gbps during the tests.

The early adoption of this technology will create significant opportunities for users and market players, and will greatly improve access to a wide range of services, particularly in the field of online television, said the communications minister, reading a message from Prime Minister Grindeanu.

The minister also brought up shortening the waiting period between different generations of technology: “From 2G to 3G we waited a decade, the waiting time was reduced to half when we passed from 3G to 4G, and now we’re talking about 5G.”

Catalin Marinescu, the former president of local telecom regulator ANCOM, said at the end of March that Romania could start the auction to award 5G license this year as operators need one or two years to prepare for the development of this new type of network.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com