Skopje, 11 July 2022 (MIA) - The Agency for Electronic Communications (AEC) granted 5G network licenses to Makedonski Telekom and A1 Macedonia on Monday, making North Macedonia the first Western Balkan country implementing an operational 5G network. AEC director Jeton Akiku said Makedonski Telekom has already covered 16 cities with the 5G network and is currently working on Tetovo and Gostivar, A1 Macedonia is working on coverage in Skopje. According to him, it is expected that Makedonski Telekom will be the first one to cover the entire country with a functional 5G network that is supposed to be 10 times faster than 4G. “The measuring that we did of the 5G network shows that the radiation from this technology is much less than the one from the old 4G network. AEC did everything it could, we’ve measured, we will continue to measure so that we scientifically prove that there is no such radiation as is spoken of on social media. We will try to inform the citizens that there is no need for panic,” said Akiku. He underlined that the gradual lowering of roaming and data traffic prices will begin as of 2023, i.e., internet in the EU countries, and he added that he expects the prices to be similar to the roaming prices in the Western Balkan countries by 2027,  part of “Roam Like at Home”. A coordination meeting will take place in Vienna this week, launching the negotiations on the lowering of roaming and data traffic prices with EU member-states.