Tunisia Telecom and Ericsson Successfully Launch 5G Services in Tunisia

Ericsson has been a partner in the Tunisian telecommunications industry since 1964 and is currently supporting the successful deployment of 5G mobile technology in Tunisia by the national operator Tunisian Telecom. The license was issued at an official ceremony attended by the head of the Tunisian government and the Minister of Communications Technology. And a commercial release was made on February 14th. The mobile operator has successfully started providing 5G-NSA (non standalone) services to residential users, including 5G eMBB and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA).

Technically speaking, the launch of 5G is based on TDD sites, using the 3.5 GHz frequency band, while on FDD after reusing the existing 4G spectrum, it mainly uses the 2100 and 1800 MHz frequency bands. High throughput was successful, with 5G TDD sites reaching 2.1 Gbit/s downlink.
This deployment marks Tunisia’s first use of this frequency band, which provides a wide spectrum for improving speed. Tunisia Telecom’s 5G is also deployed in FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) format. It is consistent with existing mobile networks and ensures wider geographical coverage.

Remarks from both sides

Tahar Labidi, Senior Account Manager at Ericsson, said, “In the spirit of long-term cooperation, Ericsson has partnered with Tunisian Telecom to ensure the successful launch of 5G commercial products within the deadline set by the Information and Communication Technology Department. Despite the tight schedule and relatively complex network structure, we have successfully combined our efforts and completed this deployment on time and excellently. Ericsson will continue to work closely with Tunisian Telecom to ensure the success of the 2025 digital strategy, which aims to place digital technology at the core of Tunisia’s economic and social development
Oussama Samet, Director of the Tunisian Telecommunications Network Center, said: Tunisian Telecom is proud to have Ericsson as our strategic partner. Tunisian Telecom has partnered with Ericsson to become the first operator to launch 5G in Tunisia and North Africa within the time frame set by the Tunisian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. Thank you to our partners, we are able to tackle the challenges of a very tight schedule in a relatively complex environment and ecosystem. This commercial release is a success for Tunisian Telecom, and we will continue to collaborate with Ericsson in the next phase of 5G deployment, use case development, and monetization