When there’s a changing marketplace with new offerings, it’s common to see a war for supremacy. Yesterday we saw details from Optus about the speeds they’ll be able to deliver to customers soon. This test shows that — in theory — users may see speeds as high as 2.8Gbps on handheld devices, but Telstra has responded questioning the validity of this statement.
Michael Ackland Group Executive of C&SB said:
There are some dubious claims out there but if they want to talk about real 5G then let’s talk real 5G. Telstra has more than 2000 5G sites in more than 60 cities and towns and 1400 suburbs with access to 5G – that’s more streets, more houses and more places covered by Telstra 5G. We’re fastest everywhere tested by independent studies – and that’s real speed, right now, not some point in the future.
If you’re keen to check this out in more detail, you can see the independent testing on the Telstra Instagram page. The short version is with identical handsets, same location (checked to ensure both carriers had good coverage) and full coverage for both. Despite the level playing field, Telstra’s speeds came out on top in a literal side-by-side comparison in the real world.
Not only does Telstra have the real-world coverage numbers but in recent — albeit lab-based — tests, they reached peak speeds of 4.2Gbps on a 5G mmWave data call using 800MHz spectrum. Similarly, they were able to clock a huge 200Mbps upstream speed using their 5G Wi-Fi Pro device.
Ackland went on to comment on Telstra’s coverage commitment to customers:
We’ve always been about giving customers the best network in more places. All our competitors have a long way to go before they can compete for the title of Australia’s best 5G.
There’s a lot to play out in the 5G space before this is settled and at the end of the day, consumers will be the winners. For now, sit back and watch while the coverage increases and the prices drop.
Their speed and coverage is useless when you can no longer speak to a human to fix the most basic of issues.
If and when travel becomes a thing again, that’s going to increase the risk of accidental multi-hundred-dollar roaming bills, should your roaming phone decide to software-update or similar: too little time to go from “oh-no” to “mobile data off”.
ping is still showing 15ms, not close to the3-5ms on real 5G.
Im with Telstra since year 2009ish. I Used to have 80-140Mbps easy at most of main locations in Melbourne approx 5 years ago. I was proud to be Telstra customer and happy with fast mobile 4Gx speed compare to other networks. No more now in year 2020. My NBN 25 plan is faster than my 4G mobile network. My 4G mobile speed shows between 18- 25Mbps while my NBN 25 speed shows 23-27 Mbps. Oh wait, i desperately waited and chased with telstra NBN service since May 2019, in the end I joined with other NBN provider.
With those high speeds, you are going to kill your data allowance after a few speedtests. I remember doing that once with maybe 3G way back.