Swisscom addressed another key stage in the rollout of 5G, striking separate roaming agreements with Finnish operator Elisa and South Korea-based SK Telecom (SKT).
In a statement, the operator said subscribers would be able to roam on Elisa’s network in Finland from tomorrow (17 July) and in Korea by the end of the month. The latter operators’ own statements suggest their subscribers already have access to Swisscom’s network.
Swisscom highlighted the quality of its launch partners’ networks, with Korea’s operators among the vanguard [1] in terms of launching the technology, and Finland leading the way in Europe.
After launching commercial 5G services [2] in April, Swisscom now wants “to offer our customers the best network, both in Switzerland and abroad,” Dirk Wierzbitzki, head of product marketing and Swisscom board member, said.
SKT’s service will initially be available on the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, though it said it plans to add LG’s V50 in the future. Han Myung-jin, VP and head of the MNO Business Supporting Group, said the Swisscom deal proved SKT’s “leadership in advanced roaming technology” and pledged to “continuously expand” the service to other markets.
Elisa, meanwhile, stated the arrangement builds on its position as the provider of the “widest 4G coverage abroad compared to other Finnish operators”.
Wierzbitzki said Elisa customers can purchase 1GB of data for €19.90.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/korea-operators-set-consumer-5g-tariffs/[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/swiss-cities-gain-5g-as-swisscom-flicks-switch/
