Optus officially launches 5G, says it will ‘take on’ Telstra

Optus has officially launched 5G services in Australia, saying it can go toe-to-toe with Telstra.

Optus CEO Allen Lew.

Optus has officially launched 5G services in Australia, with CEO Allen Lew saying the telco can go toe-to-toe with Telstra on offering reliable high speed mobile and fixed wireless services.

“We are going to take Telstra on in 5G, we have already done that in 4G and we are neck and neck with them on network coverage,” he told The Australian.

Optus, which currently has 290 5G sites in operations, is planning to have 1200 sites ready to go by March 2020.

Telstra launched 5G services in May and is aiming to deliver 5G coverage to at least 35 locations across Australia within the next 12 months. The telco is investing around $8 billion into its mobile network over the five years to June 30, 2019.

READ MORE: Need to retrofit cities for 5G | Telstra set on extra 5G spectrum for sale |

Australia to be 5G proving ground

Mr Lew said Optus had the full financial and technical backing of its parent Singtel, which is valued at almost $55 billion.

“We have Singtel’s heft behind us - this is a multi-billion investment for us, it’s extremely important and it’s something that we have to do.”

The latest announcement will see Optus offer its 5G fixed wireless alternative to the National Broadband Network (NBN) to up to 138,000 homes. The telco had originally planned to offer the $70 a month service in early 2019 but subsequently downgraded its plans to test the offering as robustly as possible.

With peak speed on the service currently hitting 400 megabits per second (Mbps). Mr Lew said the lengthy trial period will deliver better outcomes for customers.

“While it’s early days, our initial 5G service has been wowing customers who are experiencing a current average speed at peak time of 164Mbps, with the top speed achieved over 5G of 400Mbps at this point in time,” he said.

Optus’s service guarantees download speeds of 50 Mbps — comparable to that delivered over the NBN.

According to Mr Lew, its service will steal customers away from NBN.

“Because of the mixed technology approach of NBN Co, some of which limit the speeds consumers can get, there’s an opportunity here for 5G fixed wireless services.”

“When it comes to making revenue from 5G, fixed wireless is the first major application that meets customer needs.”

“We are taking things slowly but we have tested the service extensively and are confident about it being reliable,” Mr Lew said.

Meanwhile, Optus is also making 5G-powered mobile plans over three handsets - Samsung Galaxy Note 10, Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and the Oppo Reno 5G – available to the public.

Optus won’t charge customers extra for 5G mobile, with Mr Lew saying that it will be part of the existing plans for customers.

“Now is not the time to charge for mobile and we will look to see how fast we can roll out the 5G network and that’s why infrastructure like stadiums, airports and shopping centres are very important.

“This is where people want the best speeds,” he said.

Sticking to its content-driven strategy, Optus is also aiming to leverage its 5G capabilities to deliver high-definition streaming video.

“In addition to our significant spectrum assets, we will be building our 5G network from the ground up to be video optimised to ensure our customers have the best video experience on the Optus 5G network, which is critical when streaming premium 4K Ultra HD 4K video,” Mr Lew said.

From June 2020 Optus will launch 4K Ultra HD Live Football content on Optus Sport, which will mean that Optus 5G Home customers can enjoy selected games from the Euro 2020 tournament, the 2020/21 Champions League and the 2020/21 Premier League in 4K Ultra HD Streaming quality.

Optus also said it was working closely with video content partners 7plus, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Stan to ensure that their 2020 4K Ultra HD Streaming Video content line-up is optimised for the Optus 5G network.