DNA's radio network modernisation and 5G upgrade, launched in 2019, is now complete. The 5G coverage is equivalent to the 4G service area and the calculated population coverage is close to 100%, meaning that 5G service is available at nearly all permanent residential addresses. Geographically, the 5G network reaches all municipalities in mainland Finland. The construction of 5G infrastructure has also improved 4G connections significantly. Going forward, networks will still be enhanced on the basis of customer needs.
“The 5G upgrade project is now completed as planned by the end of this year 2024, and DNA's 5G service is available in all municipalities in mainland Finland. This means that we have upgraded virtually all our base stations to 5G capability. The Finnish Shared Network, responsible for the radio networks we use in Eastern and Northern Finland, has also reached the same point. Of course, the 5G network will never really be completed, but will continue to evolve over the coming years based on customer demand,” says Jarkko Laari, VP, Radio Networks at DNA.
DNA's 5G upgrade project was the first in Finland to be completed. Check the exact state of the mobile network in your area on DNA’s coverage map at www.dna.fi/5G. You can also check the map to see current network improvement projects. The map is updated at a slight delay, so the latest updates may not yet be visible. In eastern and northern Finland, the mobile communication networks used by DNA are designed, implemented and maintained by the Finnish Shared Network, a joint network company established by DNA and Telia in 2014.
“Thanks to our investments in 5G technology, Finns have access to even faster and more efficient connections that support the needs of both consumers and businesses. Furthermore, almost all of the mobile devices sold by DNA are already 5G capable. In the first part of the year, the amount of data transferred per subscription averaged 55.4 GB per month – the highest in Europe per subscription. Data use by corporate subscriptions has increased by more than 25 per cent year-on-year. The enormous growth of data usage clearly indicates the need for faster connections,” says Laari.
A five-year-plus project is nearing completion – but development continues
The construction of DNA’s 5G network began in 2019. Ensuring coverage in major cities was prioritised in the early years of the project. The focus was especially on traffic nodes and densely populated areas, so that as many users as possible could benefit from 5G speeds and capacity. In 2022, the network began spreading to smaller towns and rural areas. This required substantial investments in infrastructure, and DNA worked closely with local authorities and communities to ensure smooth and efficient construction.
Although close to 100 per cent population coverage has now been achieved, 5G network coverage will continue to evolve to meet customer needs, and so will 5G services. On the way to the 6G era of network technology, DNA has already used 5.5G technology to test speeds of more than 10 Gbps in its commercial mobile network. Evolving 5G technology is expected to provide significant benefits for both service providers and users, enabling tenfold data transfer speeds and network-connected devices compared to the original 5G standard.
“In the future, AI will also play a growing role in mobile services, as technology advances and becomes an integral part of mobile solutions, both on the network and client application side. This in turn will enable even better optimisation of different functions and a smoother customer experience. Regarding our promises for the near future, our corporate customers in particular will be interested in upload speeds of up to a gigabit per second,” says Laari.
The construction of the 5G network also updated the entire mobile network, as old base stations were replaced with new ones. Thanks to this, there has also been a major improvement in 4G speeds and user experience. So called fixed 5G also offers an excellent alternative to fixed-network broadband at home, so the completion of the network boosts the area’s competitiveness and expands Finnish consumers’ options for Internet services.