Tunisie Telecom And Ericsson Successfully Launch 5G In Tunisia

A partner of the Tunisian telecoms sector since 1964, Ericsson is supporting the national operator Tunisie Telecom in the successful deployment of 5G mobile technology in Tunisia.

Following the awarding of licenses at an official ceremony attended by the Tunisian head of government and the Minister of Communication Technologies at the Palais du Gouvernement in La Kasbah, and a commercial launch on February 14, the mobile operator has successfully begun providing its 5G-NSA (non-stand-alone) services, with 5G eMBB and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) for residential subscribers.

Technically, the rollout of 5G was based on TDD sites, using the 3.5 GHz frequency band, and on FDD following a repurposing of the existing 4G spectrum, mainly in the 2100 and 1800 MHz frequency bands. High throughput was achieved with 5G TDD sites reaching 2.1. Gbit/s downlink.

This deployment marks the first use in Tunisia of this frequency band, which offers a broad spectrum for improved speeds. Tunisie Telecom's 5G is also being deployed in its FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) format, which is in line with the existing mobile network and guarantees wider geographical coverage.

"In a spirit of long-term partnership, Ericsson worked with Tunisie Telecom to ensure the successful commercial launch of 5G within the deadlines set by the Ministry of ICT. And despite the very tight schedule and the relatively complex network architecture, we have managed to combine our efforts and complete this launch on time and with excellence. Ericsson will continue to work closely with Tunisie Telecom to ensure the success of the Digital Strategy 2025, which aims to put digital technology at the heart of Tunisia's economic and social development," says Tahar Labidi, Senior Account Manager at Ericsson.

For Oussama Samet, Central Director of Networks at Tunisie Telecom: Tunisie Telecom is proud to have Ericsson as a strategic partner. With Ericsson, Tunisie Telecom has succeeded in being the first operator to launch 5G in Tunisia and North Africa, within the timeframe set by the Tunisian Ministry of ICT. Thanks to our partner, we were able to meet the challenge of a very tight schedule, in a relatively complex environment and ecosystem. The commercial launch was a success for Tunisie Telecom, and we're counting on Ericsson for the next stages of 5G deployment, use case development and monetization".