Ukrainian mobile operators Kyivstar, Lifecell, and Vodafone have launched an open 5G pilot in the country's capital, Kyiv.

The city becomes the fourth location in Ukraine to launch a 5G testbed to date, following similar pilots in Lviv, Kharkiv, and Borodyanka.

The launch of 5G services in Ukraine was delayed by the Russian invasion in 2022 and the ongoing war between the two countries. However, 5G testing in the country has ramped up this year through these pilots, with the latest hitting Kyiv this month.

These trials have seen more than 1.5 million Ukrainians experience 5G as a service.

"The launch of 5G in Kyiv is another important step towards a modern telecom infrastructure in Ukraine. We are already seeing the results of the pilot: almost 1.5 million Ukrainians tested the new technology, during the tests the data transfer speed reached over 1 Gbitps, and the average speed was about 600-700 Mbitps," said Stanislav Prybytko, deputy minister of digital transformation for the development of digital infrastructure.

Prybytko previously told DCD that Ukraine had plans to launch 5G services in 2022, but had to scale back the plan because of its war with Russia.

In total, more than 300 base stations have been launched across Kyiv to support the pilot.

"The launch in Kyiv is unique in its scale: 5G on the Vodafone network is available not only in the city center, but in all districts of the capital. This will allow testing the network on the scale of an entire city - the largest in Ukraine - and ensuring access to the new generation of communication for the widest possible range of users," said Olga Ustinova, CEO, Vodafone Ukraine.

Vodafone has worked with network vendor Nokia to launch its 5G network in the country, the carrier separately confirmed.

According to Ukraine's government, Odesa will become the next city to launch a 5G pilot, although no timeframe was provided for this.