Amongst all the excitement about 5G being launched in Australia an important detail has been missed.
During the early first year or two of the Telstra 5G rollout, if not for longer, 5G will work much better outdoors than inside.
5G uses different spectrum and broadcast tower technology to 4G. One of the big differences is that at least for now, 5G coverage maps depict approximate 5G outdoor coverage only and do not include indoor coverage.
The 5G symbol appearing on the device represents that 5G is available on the network in the vicinity of the device.
However speed, performance, and whether a 5G device actually uses the available 5G depends on network, device interactions and prevailing radio conditions at your location.
Outside of 5G coverage, 5G devices should use the fastest available 4G, or 3G where 4G is unavailable.
Are you an early adopter of 5G in Australia? Please let us know your experiences in the comments.
Anecdotally we’ve heard some people have reported experiencing quirks about which mobile towers their device connects to, variable speeds and unexpected behaviour about how new 5G devices flip between 3G, 4G and 5G.
Hopefully these are just early small glitches as Telstra and device manufacturers work on optimising their 5G products and services.
So basically saying don’t rush out and get a 5g device, it will be years before they are any good.
As with the 3G and 4G networks when they arrived, being an early adopter really didn’t have too many benefits. Telstra’s 5G footprint is so, so small that really unless you live and work in the CBD (and even then), there’s really just no point.