Swiss premiere: Sunrise launches 5G in March 2019 Donnerstag, 21. Februar 2019 - 06:50

"We're “First on 5G”. Sunrise is launching the first 5G offer in Switzerland and covering 150 cities/villages with the latest generation of mobile communications by end of March. Along with South Korea, Japan, the USA and China, Switzerland is one of the first countries in the world to launch 5G. Sunrise offers the broadest 5G coverage right from the start. With 5G, we want to close the digital divide between urban and rural areas, which is particularly important for business customers and SMEs based outside city centers. 5G will propel them into the digital age. We are very pleased that our first 5G approx. 100 selected residential and business customers will be able to make use of "5G for People" from mid-March, and benefit from high-bandwidth Internet speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s without fiber optic connections. Later this year and in addition to fiber offers, we will launch high-bandwidth Internet, our best TV offer and a phone package over 5G in non-urban areas. However, customers have not to worry about the technology. They automatically receive the best offer available at their home or place of business," says Olaf Swantee, CEO of Sunrise, describing Sunrise's 5G launch.

"5G for People" in 150 cities/villages throughout Switzerland by the end of March

By the end of March 2019, Sunrise provides 150 cities/places throughout Switzerland with the new generation of mobile communications. These include cities with large populations like Dietikon (27’000), Bülach (20’725) and Opfikon (19’864) and smaller suburban and rural communities/villages like Autafond – part of the municipality of Belfaux, FR since 2015 (74 inhabitants), Auboranges (287), Ecublens, FR (346) and Boningen (759). All 150 cities/villages will have 5G population coverage between 80% (e.g. Niederlenz) and 98% (e.g. Bachenbülach).

5G coverage information is available on the Sunrise website. Anyone who would like to know when 5G will also be available in their area can register and be kept up to date on our network rollout. New customers who order Sunrise Home Internet products in the future will automatically receive a coverage check. If there is no fiber-optic connection at the customer’s home or place of business but a high-performance 5G connection for high-bandwidth Internet is available, the customer will automatically be offered a 5G proposition. All customers will be offered the proposition that gives them the fastest Internet connection.

Only about 30% of households and SMEs in Switzerland could currently benefit from a fiber-optic connection. 70% of those in suburban and rural areas have to deal with hybrid solutions (a mix of fiber-optic and copper network) or slower DSL connections and are moving at a snail's pace in the digital age. By concentrating its 5G rollout on suburban and rural areas, Sunrise closes the digital divide between these and urban areas, paving the way for digitization in rural Switzerland. Customers who want to see how "optical fiber through the air" performs can get a 5G demo in Sunrise shops throughout the year.

About 100 selected pioneers start with "5G for People"

5G coverage and the Sunrise Internet Box 5G are required for high-bandwidth Internet without a fiber-optic connection. Starting in mid-March 2019, around 100 selected Sunrise residential and business customers are 5G pioneers and benefit exclusively and free of charge from this introductory offer. Using the Sunrise "Plug & Play" Internet Box 5G is very simple: Simply connect the device (complete with SIM card) to the power supply and start the 5G WiFi network. Devices like smart TVs, laptops, tablets, and so on can be connected to the Sunrise Internet Box 5G via WiFi or LAN cable. Later this year, it will also be possible to connect the Sunrise TV Box UHD to the Sunrise Internet Box 5G and obtain all Sunrise Home Internet services, including telephony via 5G. The box supports the latest WiFi standard (WiFi 6) with connections of up to 11 Gbit/s as well as numerous phone call features (call forwarding, call waiting, "Do not disturb", etc.).

Further 5G offers from Sunrise

Sunrise will launch additional "5G for People" offers later this year.

More information on "5G for people" are available at sunrise.ch/5g