Mobile World Congress: Telstra reveals 2019 5G rollout

Telstra has followed Optus in revealing plans to rollout 5G networks across Australia next year.

Present at this year’s Mobile World Congress, held this week in Barcelona, Spain, the telco said in a roadmap document it would provide 5G to major cities and regional areas through the course of 2019.

However, it has not committed to naming exactly where the first rollouts will take place.

See also:

• Telstra opens new 5G innovation centre on Gold Coast, follows Optus 2019 pledge
• Optus says it will roll out 5G in key metro areas by early 2019
• Read the latest edition of ANZ’s Business Chief magazine
   

Earlier this month, Telstra opened a new 5G innovation centre on the Gold Coast.

Speaking at time, CEO Robyn Deholm said: “Telstra has already conducted Australia’s first 5G field trial and the world’s first 5G outdoor data call over 26GHz ‘mmWave’ radiofrequency spectrum.  From our new 5G Innovation Centre we will be completing a number of 5G firsts in 2018 to ensure Australia remains at the forefront of mobile technology.”

Having already launched 4.5G in 2017, Optus is now pledging to deploy 5G connectivity which is 15 times faster than what is currently on the market.

The announcement follows a successful trial which showed 2Gbps download speeds using a potential device for a fixed wireless service in the home and business.

Telstra is eager to lead the race to 5G instalment, and has teamed up with the likes of Qualcomm, Intel and Ericsson to develop an end-to-end 5G ecosystem. It also restated its commitment to developing its 4G offering.