Telstra touts ‘game changer’ for rural 5G
Executives on the ground in Barcelona say a partnership with Ericsson will be a boon for rural Australia, while rival Optus has cancelled its press commitments.
Connectivity holes in Telstra’s 5G mobile network will be plugged in spectacular fashion through a collaboration with Ericsson which will vastly extend the range of 5G transmissions.
Under the plan, Telstra users will be able to connect to 5G networks up to 100km from the 5G source instead of a current maximum range of 15km. The 100km range capability could prove of major benefit on long flat stretches of roadways in remote areas of Australia.
There are caveats: the extended range will be possible only in clearer areas without obstructive terrain and vegetation. The extended range therefore will work best in rural and regional Australia, rather than in urban environments.
Additionally, 5G sources will have to be equipped with particular antennas and extended coverage is limited to particular signal bands.
Extending the range of 5G is made possible by new software. It’s part of a new age where software and virtualisation is playing a leading role in the advancement of telecommunications and networking.
Telstra and Swedish networking giant Ericsson today revealed they had tested the new system by successfully making a 100km long-range 5G data-based call at Burramine in South Australia, about two hours north of Adelaide. The test achieved data speeds of up to 89 megabits per second over the 100km range.
The companies made the announcement at Mobile World Congress, a global communications conference in Barcelona, Spain.
“Although situations allowing a full 100km extension will be limited, there will be many areas in regional/rural Australia where effective 5G coverage will now reach well beyond 15km, meaning more 5G coverage in more places,” the companies said in a statement.
Head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand, Emilio Romeo, said Telstra and Ericsson were again leading the industry to extend the reach of new mobile technologies. “This milestone is another example of how we’re innovating to deliver connectivity to more Australians.”
Nikos Katinakis, Telstra Group Executive Global Network & Technology, said the achievement was among ways Telstra was committed to improving coverage over time.
Telstra said it would selectively install the 5G long range capability based on each mobile site’s local requirements and environment. “Once testing is complete, and based on device dependencies, it is expected selective field deployments will start later this year.”
Speaking with The Australian, Telstra Group Executive, Product & Technology, Kim Krogh Andersen said Telstra this year planned to achieve 84 percent 5G coverage of the Australian population with a goal of more than 90 per cent.
Telstra also wanted to further roll out even faster 5G known as millimetre wave (mmWave), but this was being held back by the lack of phones that could use it. Currently only recent Google Pixel phones supported it. Millimetre wave allows for fast data transfers in crowded locations such as stadiums and airports but has a short range.
Mr Andersen is also bullish about Telstra entering the Metaverse, aiding its adoption in industry as a first step. He predicted use of the Metaverse would start evolving from gaming.
Telstra was also looking at the next generation of 5G (know as 5.5G or 5G Advanced) that offers 10 Gigabit download and 1GB upload speeds, he said.
Optus meanwhile has cancelled major announcements and meetings with journalists due to take place at the Mobile World Congress telecommunications conference in Barcelona.
The event was an opportunity for the embattled telco to get back on track following last year’s disastrous hacking of personal data of more than two million Australians.
Optus had planned to promote its Boost capability at the conference and to announce deals with business and telecommunications partners. That has been put on hold until after the event.
Chris Griffith is attending Mobile World Congress in Barcelona courtesy of Oppo.
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