Telecom. IT :Orange Romania achieved 5G/5G+ coverage in 88 cities in 2025

2025 was one of the most important years in recent history for Orange Romania, especially in terms of innovation. By the end of the year, the operator had expanded its 5G/5G+ coverage to 88 cities and reached approximately 4.5 million households with the latest generation of fiber optics. At the same time, in 2025 Orange maintained its position as the fastest network, accelerating infrastructure integration and network growth to meet customers’ digitization needs, after completing its merger with Orange Romania Communications SA in 2024 (with former Telekom Romania Communications).   The expansion of 5G/5G+ technology is one of the most important drivers of innovation in telecommunications. It represents not only an increase in speed and coverage, but also a way to facilitate the digitization of many localities, encourage the development of more smart cities, and streamline many industries. On the one hand, speeds are up to 10 times faster on 5G compared to 4G, files transfer much faster, and apps, websites, and smart home devices load almost instantly, video streaming is much more stable and can be done at much higher quality.   The new technology brings long-term changes to the daily lives of city residents, as it makes it much easier to implement smart homes, environmental sensors, smart metering for utilities, traffic monitoring and flow management, and other technologies related to education, health, energy, the environment, and electric cars.   On the other hand, 5G/5G+ can be used to create high-speed, low-latency private networks that can massively streamline production facilities and factories that use automation.   In 2025, Orange Romania achieved 5G/5G+ coverage in 88 cities. The most recent cities to switch to the new technology in the last six months are: Barlad, Buzau, Campia Turzii, Campina, Campulung, Caracal, Comanesti, Dej, Fetesti, Medias, Moinesti, Onesti, Pascani, Radauti, Ramnicu Sarat, Roman, Slatina, Slobozia, Targu Jiu, Turda, Valea Prahovei (Azuga, Busteni, Predeal, Sinaia), Vaslui, and Zalau. During the same period, coverage was extended to 100% in the municipality of Timisoara.   An update as important as the 5G network was the improvement of the fixed services infrastructure. Orange is replacing the old copper and FTTB (Fiber-to-the-Building) technologies with FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home), reaching 412,000 modernized connections in 2025. Thus, last year, FTTH fiber optic coverage was achieved for approximately 4.5 million households. The new technology has also brought a significant improvement in speed. All subscribers on FTTH fiber are eligible for the fastest internet speed for residential customers in our country – 2.1 Gbps (through the Fiber 2300 service). In the coming years, the company aims to make over 90% of the Orange group’s infrastructure in Romania eligible for the highest speed.   Another major step towards digitization was taken in one of the most isolated areas of Romania: the Danube Delta. Through the 5G Connect Danube Delta project, launched in 2024, the new generation of mobile technologies was activated in the area. Specifically, in 2025, 5G SA (Standalone) technology was introduced for the first time in Romania, which operates independently of the existing 4G network and allows for more efficient traffic. The equipment is connected to the Orange 5G core network in Bucharest and to a local traffic processing node, originating from users in the region. In addition, there is a dedicated Edge Cloud server infrastructure, which reduces the distance between the user and the services, ensuring low latency and the speeds required for local usage scenarios.   The most important component of the project is the social one. 5G/5G+ technology brings many opportunities for the inhabitants of the area, with four major critical areas of action identified: access to digital education, facilitation of telemedicine, slow tourism, and environmental monitoring. The project is supported by the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Facility program.   Orange Romania is constantly involved in implementing the next generation of equipment and technologies. In early December, the operator tested 5G millimeter Wave (mmWave) technology for the first time in our country on a 5G Standalone (SA) network. The tests were carried out in the 5G laboratory in Bucharest, on a temporary license provided by ANCOM for the 26 GHz radio spectrum. Using an mmWave radio system from Ericsson and 5G terminals from Nokia that integrate Wi-Fi 7 capabilities, speeds of up to 10 Gbps download and 1.2 Gbps upload were achieved.   This technology offers not only multi-gigabit speeds, but also greater stability in areas with heavy traffic. There are multiple scenarios for future applicability: hotspots in crowded places (stadiums, arenas, festivals, airports, train stations, shopping centers), an alternative to fixed fiber internet in any area (urban, suburban, rural), media production and broadcasting (4K/8K live broadcasts, fast content upload from the field), immersive applications available remotely without latency issues (AR, VR, XR), private 5G+ networks for industrial applications that require high speeds and stability and extremely low latency, replacing conventional Wi-Fi equipment (smart factories and Industry 4.0).   The transition to 5G and the latest generation of fiber optics also means more sustainable services. Energy consumption drops significantly as most traffic moves away from 4G. This means that 5G/5G+ is up to 10 times more efficient for the same amount of traffic than previous technologies. At the same time, modern networks can go into “economy mode” when they’re not being used as much, reducing their impact on the environment. Another important initiative that has led to a substantial reduction in energy consumption in 2025 was the gradual decommissioning of copper networks and their replacement with fiber optics, a project that continues this year.   Another long-term commitment of the company in terms of sustainability is the use of green electricity. 90% of the electricity consumed by Orange Romania comes from renewable sources.   Also at the end of last year, Orange began implementing the fastest mobile network in the Bucharest subway. With the introduction of 5G+ technology for the first time in underground transport, passengers began to enjoy speeds of up to 1 Gbps in certain stations and tunnels. In addition to the known benefits of 5G/5G+, they will have a much more stable connection even on the go, including those with devices that only work on 4G.   So far, several stations on the M1, M2, and M3 lines have been covered: Aparatorii Patriei, Aurel Vlaicu, Aviatorilor, Berceni, Constantin Brancoveanu, Pacii, Piata Romana, Piata Sudului, Piata Unirii 1, Piata Victoriei 1 and 2, Pipera, Preciziei, Tineretului, Universitate. The expansion plans cover the entire Metrorex network by the end of 2026.   In 2025, Orange launched a strategic partnership with Olympic swimming medalist David Popovici. It is a natural association between the fastest network and the fastest swimmer—a symbol of performance, progress, and pushing boundaries. David Popovici is a link between generations and a source of inspiration through his determination, performance, and constant evolution, values that reflect Orange Romania’s ambition to offer its customers better experiences and relevant technological solutions every day.   Last year, according to the latest Netograf study conducted by ANCOM, Orange Romania remained the fastest mobile network in Romania, with average download speeds of 95 Mbps, while also having the fastest fixed internet, with average download speeds of 558 Mbps. At the end of 2025, the independent external auditor LCC International renewed Orange’s certification as the best mobile network in our country. At the same time, in January 2026, other speed testing services reconfirmed Orange as the fastest mobile and fiber network in Romania.   All these technologies facilitate an increasingly diverse and flexible portfolio of services for residential, business, and institutional customers. For example, the current offer for mobile and fixed service consumers is reduced by 50% on all packages for the entire duration of the contract (24 months) for new customers. At the same time, internet+TV packages include streaming services and speeds of up to 2.1 Gbps download and 1 Gbps upload, via Fibra 2300, the fastest residential internet in Romania. The same networks facilitate a variety of B2B services, from connectivity to IT&C, cloud, Internet-of-Things, business integration, and wholesale fiber. “Looking back at 2025, we managed to exceed our goals for network expansion and new technologies. We are delighted that our efforts have once again been recognised by external auditors. We will continue to support the personal and professional development needs of Romanians, the connectivity and online security requirements of families, and help create creative and entrepreneurial local communities. At the same time, we want to offer Romanian businesses comprehensive connectivity, IT&C, cloud, cybersecurity, and business integration services to facilitate more room for growth in an increasingly complex digital world that is difficult to manage independently. Orange Romania will continue to expand its mobile networks this year, keeping us on track to cover the largest area nationwide, following a record investment in our country in the 5G spectrum – approximately EUR 265 million. At the same time, we will focus on improving our fiber optic infrastructure, increasing the eligibility of as many cities as possible for the fastest fixed internet in Romania,” says Marius Maican, Technology Director Orange Romania.   In addition to innovations in infrastructure and speeds, Orange also brought other new developments to the Romanian market in 2025. One example was the introduction of the first Wi-Fi 7 solution for business customers in our country. The service includes the Wi-Fi Pro business subscription, which comes with updated speeds and Wi-Fi 7 enterprise equipment for companies of all sizes. This means that Wi-Fi speeds of up to 4 Gbps can be achieved on multiple devices and up to 2 Gbps on a single device. Another example is the SMSoIP service, which was introduced in response to the decommissioning of the 3G network, ensuring the continuity of short message service both domestically and while roaming.   At the same time, it ensures the transmission/reception of SMS messages even when a customer is in an area with weaker coverage or even no coverage, as long as they are connected to a Wi-Fi network and have the WiFi Call – VoWiFi option enabled. A concrete use case is messages received for authentication in applications or for payment validation, which until last year could not be received in areas without mobile coverage.   Orange Romania is part of the Orange Group, one of the largest global telecommunications operators, connecting hundreds of millions of customers worldwide. With over 11 million local customers and an annual turnover exceeding EUR 1.5 billion, Orange Romania connects 1 in 2 Romanians and offers a wide range of communications solutions for individual customers and businesses, from basic connectivity services to comprehensive mobile internet, fixed internet, TV, and complex IT&C solutions through Orange Business. Since entering the local market, Orange has invested EUR 4.7 billion in Romania.