Israel enters the 5G era: commercial licenses issued, three major operators quickly launch services

Beijing time, October 6 evening news (Jiang Junmu) With the official issuance of commercial licenses on September 29, Israel officially entered the 5G era. The three local operators, Hot Mobile, Partner Communications and Pelephone, quickly began marketing their mobile services.

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Pelephone's parent company, Bezeq Group, said the operator would "begin operations" on "already upgraded" sites on spectrum won in a tender launched in 2019. Meanwhile, Partner Communications tweeted that it was offering 5G services, and Israel's Globes reported that Hot Mobile was also live.

Communications Ministry representative Eran Bar-Oz told The Times of Israel that operators have deployed more than 200 5G antennas with the goal of covering 25,000 locations in densely populated areas.

Pelephone said it had at least one compatible site in each of the country's 150 towns, but noted that these did not yet provide complete coverage.

The operators' timeline is in line with targets set by the Ministry of Communications when it began bidding for 5G spectrum.

Israeli Communications Minister Yoaz Handel noted that the launch of 5G will "drive the development of industry, high technology, smart cities and Internet of Things technologies." He acknowledged that Israel lags behind in infrastructure and pledged to work hard to advance and "restore leadership" in the communications field.

He also urged Israeli companies and startups to recognize the potential of 5G to drive the country's "huge economic potential."