Bangladesh plans to start the test-run of fifth generation (5G) mobile data service by July this year, Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar said today.

Speaking to The Daily Star, he said: “We are yet to fix the date; but initially, we have decided to go for a test run second week of next month”.

The government also plans to run the test with the support of a leading telecom vendor Huawei. This decision was reached in a meeting on Tuesday, he said.

The move comes just five months into the handing out of 4G spectrum. Also, currently, the mobile operators are yet to deliver full 4G network coverage.

“The world is now moving very fast for 5G and we can’t waste our time,” Minister Jabbar said.

According to the plan, the test run will be organised at a city hotel in July, under arrangement of Huawei. Spectrum band and other technical issues are yet to be fixed.

About 70 percent geographical location of the country is now covered with 3G services while for 4G only some parts of the major towns and cities are covered.