Romania's fourth biggest mobile operator Telekom Romania Mobile has finally launched 5G services in the country.

The launch has come as a surprise, given the telco sat out last year’s 5G spectrum auction organized by the National Authority for Management & Regulation in Communications (ANCOM).

But reports from local publication Ziarul Financiar (ZF) have revealed the operator launched its 5G service with its existing radio spectrum, according to a notification sent to its subscribers.

Telekom Romania Mobile, a subsidiary of German operator Deutsche Telekom, told customers that its 5G service will deliver upload speeds of 250Mbps and download transfer rates of 50Mbps.

According to the operator's coverage map, customers with compatible handsets can access the 5G network in the cities of Ploiesti, Pitesti, Sibiu, and areas of Bucharest, while ZF notes there are also plans to extend to 10 more major cities, including Cluj-Napoca and Brasov.

Telekom Romania Mobile is the last of Romania's four operators to launch a 5G service, with Vodafone Romania, RCS&RDS (DIGI), and Orange Romania all launching 5G services back in 2019.