Around 100,000 subscribers of Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecoms operator, 135,000 customers of VF Ukraine (Vodafone Ukraine, VFU), the second-largest mobile operator, and tens of thousands of subscribers of Lifecell
LLC (lifecell brand), the third-largest operator, used 5G technology in Kyiv on the first day of testing.
Kyivstar told Interfax-Ukraine that its network processed around 14 terabytes of traffic in the capital during the first 24 hours of testing, with average speeds of 600-800 Mbps and a peak exceeding 2 Gbps, the latter measured near the O.V. Fomin Botanical Garden.
Lifecell said its subscribers had used more than 20 terabytes of traffic on the 5G network since the technology’s launch in Kyiv.
Following the pilot launch in Kyiv, average mobile internet speed on the 5G network is around 500-700 Mbps, with a peak of up to 1.5 Gbps recorded directly on the network, the company said.
"This is a peak value achieved at a specific moment in a specific location," lifecell said.
Lifecell said actual speed depends on the smartphone model, the number of simultaneously connected users and their traffic consumption, and signal strength.
Vodafone Ukraine said in a release that users downloaded more than 25 terabytes of data over the 5G network on the first day of testing, with an average speed of 600 Mbps and a maximum recorded speed at a base station under real-world load of nearly 2 Gbps.
Kyivstar said the most active 5G use during testing was recorded in central Kyiv, while lifecell said the highest 5G traffic was recorded at the railway station, in central Kyiv and in Vynohradar, with high figures also in Troieshchyna.
Kyivstar separately said more than 1 million of its subscribers have used 5G since the first pilot projects were launched in January 2026, with an average of 135,000-190,000 daily users of the technology, depending on the day of the week.
Lifecell added that hundreds of thousands of subscribers have used 5G technology in Lviv, Borodianka and Kharkiv over the past six months.
As previously reported, the pilot launch of 5G took place in the Ukrainian capital on July 22, with plans to expand the technology to Odesa.
Vodafone Ukraine’s 5G coverage is available in all of the capital’s administrative districts: Holosiivsky, Darnytsky, Desniansky, Dniprovsky, Obolonsky, Pechersky, Podilsky, Sviatoshynsky, Solomiansky and Shevchenkivsky.
Kyivstar said its 5G test zone covers Sofiivska Square and St. Sophia’s Cathedral, the area around the Golden Gate and the National Opera of Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko Park, St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral, the O.V. Fomin Botanical Garden, the Kyiv History Museum, Independence Square and Khreshchatyk, European Square, Parkova Road, Volodymyrska Hill, and Peizazhna Alley, among other locations.
Lifecell said its 5G coverage in Kyiv is currently available in the city’s most visited locations, including the central area — Bessarabska Square, Khreshchatyk, Independence Square — as well as at the Central and Southern railway stations, near the Pecherska and Arsenalna metro stations, near the Ocean Plaza mall and the Central Bus Station, in Podil at Poshtova and Kontraktova squares, and at the VDNH exhibition center, Sevastopolska Square, the RaiON mall in Troieshchyna, and the Retroville mall.
As previously reported, 5G technology in Ukraine will operate in two frequency bands: 3500 MHz, for high data transfer speeds, and 700 MHz, for extended coverage.
Testing is expected to continue through the end of 2026, Vodafone Ukraine has said.
