Australians could be the first to use 5G mobile phone networks after Telstra fast-tracked tech

THE next-generation mobile network with download speeds faster than the NBN is due next year. Will you upgrade your phone?

AUSTRALIA is on track to be the first country in the world to use next-generation mobile phone technology with download speeds up to 20 times faster than the best National Broadband Network connection, Telstra revealed yesterday.

The announcement, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, will see Australians access record-breaking 5G mobile download speeds next year, as well as cheaper data rates, after Telstra fast-tracked the technology.

The next-generation technology will make it easier and cheaper to deliver internet services. Picture: Glenn Hampson

But those who want to use the speedy new connections early will have to delay buying a new smartphone until late this year as none of the current handsets are ready for the technology.

5G mobile phone networks, which are expected to dominate talk at Mobile World Congress this week, could deliver download speeds of up to 20 gigabits per second with fast response times using new infrastructure and network spectrum.

Telstra chief operating officer Robyn Denholm said the next-generation technology would also make it easier and cheaper to deliver internet services to mobile phones users, and Telstra planned invest $5 billion up to June 2019 to fast-track the technology and potentially become the first in the world to offer it to a large audience.

“Yes, we intend to lead,” Ms Denholm said.

“We have a history of being world-leading in terms of the rollout of different technology. That’s our role in life — to bring the world’s best technology in Australia and do that in a leading-edge way.”

Telstra 5G drone tests at Labrador in Queensland show how the next generation of mobile technology will be a critical element in powering new innovations. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Ms Denholm said Australia would also play a substantial role in creating the technology, with its governing body 3GPP set to standardise 5G connections at a conference on the Gold Coast in Queensland this September.

She said that standard, in addition to trials already carried out across the country, would allow 5G to be fast-tracked in Australia from its initial launch date of 2020.

“In 2019 we’ll be launching our 5G network and it will have multiple use cases,” she said. “We will deploy in major capital cities and regional Australia.”

Telstra networks group managing director Mike Wright said 5G would be much more “transformational” than the upgrade from 3G to 4G, as it would also enable innovations such as autonomous cars which communicated with traffic lights, and smart home appliances.

“We used to be about connecting people to each other and connecting people to the internet,” he said. “This ‘G’ ... is going to be about connecting things to each other.

“The early entrance is important because it’s about delivering the services customers have already started to consume ... but also getting them ready for the subsequent phases of (5G technology).”

Telstra will face stiff competition to win the 5G race, however.

US carrier Sprint this month revealed plans to launch the technology in the first half of 2019, and local rival Optus planned to deliver a 5G fixed wireless product in “key metro areas” next year.

Australians keen to use 5G networks first also face another hurdle: even the newest smartphones do not yet support the yet-to-be-standardised technology, and are unlikely to do so until late this year.

But Samsung Australia mobile director Garry McGregor said the company was already in “discussions with operators” about the launch of 5G technology to bring it to customers as soon as possible.

“Moving to 5G, when you’ve essentially got fibre in your pocket, that’s incredible,” he said.

“It gives us at Samsung a massive opportunity to step up and I think that is going to be a massive paradigm shift in Australia.”

Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson travelled to Barcelona as a guest of Samsung.

Originally published as Australians could be the first to use 5G mobile phone networks after Telstra fast-tracked tech