Sunrise detailed plans to introduce 5G services in 150 Swiss cities and villages Switzerland by the end of March, just a fortnight after it was awarded 5G radio frequencies by the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom).

From mid-March, around 100 selected 5G residential and business customers will be able to use the service, dubbed 5G for People. It will include high-bandwidth internet via a SIM-enabled plug-and-play device named Sunrise Internet Box 5G.

“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 centres,” CEO Olaf Swantee said in a statement.

“Along with South Korea, Japan, the USA and China, Switzerland is one of the first countries in the world to launch 5G,” he added.

Sunrise explained that only about 30 per cent of households and SMEs in Switzerland currently have access to a fiber-optic connection. The remainder “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”.

The operator stated its focus on deploying 5G in suburban and rural areas will help close “the digital divide between these and urban areas”.

ComCom completed an auction of 5G radio frequencies earlier this month, with Swisscom, Sunrise and Salt paying a total of CHF380 million ($380 million) for 15-year licences.