Hungary might not be the most advanced telecoms market in the world but a 5G first is still a 5G first, and this one has been claimed by Ericsson.

In partnership with Magyar Telekom, Ericsson claimed Hungary’s first demo of 5G New Radio at its R&D centre in Budapest. Using 800 MHz of spectrum over the 15 GHz frequency band the demo apparently achieved a whopping download speed of 22 Gbps.

Gábor Éry, Country Manager Ericsson Hungary, says: “This demonstration is a real milestone for our partnership with Magyar Telekom,” said Gábor Éry, Ericsson Country Manager for Hungary. “This is the first time a 5G radio link has been established in Hungary and this implementation is helping to ensure that Magyar Telekom is well prepared to take full advantage of the potential of 5G.”

“5G means a brand new network concept which combines fixed and mobile communication,” said Kim Kyllesbech Larsen, CTIO of Magyar Telekom. “Its potential lies not in the speed only but in the built-in network intelligence and the collaboration with other technologies. 5G opens up new opportunities also for the operators and thus for Magyar Telekom to offer services connected with IoT and robotics for different sectors like the car industry, health or public service, agriculture, etc.

“The 5G Coalition tasks to make Hungary one of the European hubs for 5G tests and developments and our joint demonstration with Ericsson Hungary is a good example of the collaboration needed to achieve our goals concerning 5G.”

As if that wasn’t enough 5G posturing for one day, Ericsson concluded its announcement by boasting that it has signed more 5G memoranda of understanding – 36 – than anyone else in the industry. How do you like them apples Huawei, Nokia, etc!?