Around 55,000 residents of the Faroe Islands gained the option to connect to 5G after a deployment by Faroese Telecom, powered by Ericsson equipment.
The operator targeted 100 per cent population coverage with a non-standalone deployment using Ericsson cloud core, network functions virtualisation and 5G RAN products.
Faroese Telecom stated the move will enable it to provide 5G-based fixed wireless access services along with āsignificantly higher voice call qualityā using VoLTE.
Ericsson noted the deployment spanned 18 ārocky volcanic islandsā and involved providing coverage āon bridges, ferries and fishing boats up to 100km out to seaā, along with ādeep subsea tunnelsā.
Faroese Telecom is one of two MNOs covering the islands, which official figures state have around 55,000 inhabitants, though numbers are swelled by tourism, one of several sectors the operator expects to benefit from greater access to IoT and AI technologies.
The greatest impact, potentially, is on the fisheries and aquaculture industry, which Ericsson noted āaccounts for 90 per cent to 95 per cent of the islandsā total export value and around 20 per cent of the GDPā.
Simun Skaalum, MD of Faroese Telecom, said the 5G deployment is about āmore than just connectivityā, with digital inclusion the true benefit.
āOur partnership with Ericsson has transcended mere infrastructure: itās about bridging gaps, both geographical and digitalā.
The companies trialled 5G using mmWave in 2023, achieving peak download data rates of up to 6Gb/s.
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