5G is the buzzword of the moment. While we have very few devices available that actually can take advantage of 5G all the carriers are pushing to be the first to roll out 5G. Today Telstra have announced that they have switched on 5G to selected areas on the Gold Coast.
We have seen Telstra switch on some 5G hotspots throughout the Gold Coast earlier this year and not long ago they made the first ever end to end 5G phone call on a commercial network so it is not surprising to see them roll out this commercial 5G network to parts of the Gold Coast. In doing so Telstra have become the first carrier in the country to do this.
For Telstra this is just the beginning of their 5G roll out with more than 200 5G capable sites planned by the end of 2018. Telstra’s CEO Andrew Penn said that today’s switch on of 5G shows “Telstra’s commitment to mobile leadership in Australia and will support the ongoing testing of next generation mobile technologies in Australian conditions to support the early commercial deployment of 5G mobile services”.
The new 5G commercial network will allow Telstra to test 5G pre-commercial devices under real world conditions and scenarios. There was no word whether they are currently testing any but you would expect there would be some 5G devices in the works — what is the use of a 5G network without a device to operate on it?
The upcoming areas connected to 5G will include “capital cities, regional centres and other high demand areas”. Telstra plans to lead the Australian market and “win in 5G” thanks to large amounts of investment in research and new technologies.
Our T22 strategy will be underpinned by our aim to have the largest, fastest, safest, smartest and most reliable next generation network, and these ongoing investments will ensure we continue to deliver market leading innovation in networks.Andrew Penn, Telstra CEO
How do you feel about 5G? Will it be the promised land that we are led to believe it will be or will it just be the next evolution in mobile technology like 4G was to 3G?
Thank god for 5g and telcos the size of Telstra for going forward with this first world connectivity.
Looking into it ‘beamforming’ directs the wifi signal directly from device to enabled router and vice versa.
Gotta be safer…which is a great thing at home or the office, but large shopping malls?
Telstra is experimenting with LiFi ….another brillant game changing innovation.
I wonder if the Note 9 is 5g ready hmm?
Lol whats the point of telstra doing this when they’re on the verge of going bankrupt also whats the point of 5g when there isn’t a single 5g capable phone in the country