Elisa deploys 5G-Advanced in Finland

Elisa consumer customers become first in world to use highly anticipated 5.5G for home internet connection

Elisa has opened a 5.5G network in Finland that will bring significant improvements to current mobile network uplink speeds and boost download speeds. Elisa customers are the first consumers in the world to use 5.5G for their home internet connections, and in spring, the new technology will arrive for phone subscriptions and corporate use. The 5G network led to increases in download speeds, but customers are also demanding faster data transfers in the other direction as well: Finns are uploading more and more data to the network.

The 5.5G network, also known as 5G Advanced, brings a highly anticipated jump in development for mobile subscriptions. It will increase data upload speeds several times over and will also improve download speeds to customer devices. Connection speeds are traditionally described using just download speeds: if a subscription is described as 600 Mbit/s, then it will download data from the network to the device at 600 megabits per second. Download speed has been the starting point for network development, but these days, people are uploading increasing amounts of data from their devices to the network.

Use social media, cloud services or AI? You’re uploading data to the network.

The most common ways that people upload data to the network are when they use social media, cloud services and AI tools. If your internet connection is congested using these tools, the bottleneck is likely the upload speed, and 5.5G can meet future needs, too.

“One significant driver for 5.5G is the increase in use of AI, which has increased the amount of upstream data transfer in the network. It’s important that in Finland, we can be the first to learn about the features of new technologies and bring their benefits to our customers”, explains Kalle Lehtinen, Chief Technology Officer at Elisa.

World’s first consumers using 5.5G – subscription availability expanding in spring

The world’s first consumer users of 5.5G are people with home internet connections using Elisa’s network in the Helsinki region.

“For ordinary internet users, this is the most significant development step since 5G first arrived. Customers really notice the difference when they work from home: 5.5G connections mean improvements in video meeting performance and large file transfers. Smart home devices are also more reliable, and we may see developments such as services that support older people in remaining in their own homes”, explains Laura Soikkeli, Head of Elisa’s Home Connections business.

Availability of the 5.5G network and subscriptions is expanding in phases. Currently, the network is available in the capital region, Tampere and Jyväskylä. In the coming years, we’re expanding it around Finland. At the same time, the range of services supporting 5.5G is expanding: in spring, we will see the arrival of 5.5G phone subscriptions and services for corporate offices and remote working. Using 5.5G requires a 5.5G subscription and a compatible phone or router. The selection of 5.5G-compatible devices is also set to grow in the coming years.

Finns were early adopters of 5G

• Elisa opened the world’s first commercial 5G network and sold the Nordics’ first 5G customer phone in 2019. The 5G network enabled download speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s.
• At the start of 2024, Elisa was the first to offer Finnish customers 5G standalone phone subscriptions (5G+) and home internet (Omakaists). Home internet connections using 5G standalone have lower latency and less congestion thanks to network slicing features.
• At the end of February 2025, Elisa opened its 5.5G network, bringing this new technology to Finnish home and corporate internet connections as well as phone subscriptions. Upload speeds are several times faster over 5.5G than with previous technologies.