French-owned cellco Orange DRC has begun testing 5G technology, claiming to be the first operator in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to do so.

The company did not disclose further details regarding the trials, but noted that the technology would support faster connections of up to 1Gbps whilst the lower latency of the 5G would open the door for IoT applications.

As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, the development follows on the heels of Orange DRC’s launch of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) in parts of Gombe in February this year.