Telstra 5G home internet trial hailed a success

Kate Reynolds - Digital Content Editor

Last updated 13 May 2021

More and more homes may opt to choose a 5G home internet service over the NBN as their home internet provider soon.

After introducing a 5G home internet offering last year on an invite-only basis, Telstra now says they’re ready to roll it out to the rest of the country in the coming months. Telstra has yet to confirm when its the 5G home internet plan will be more widely available, but the telco says 75% of Aussies will have access to its 5G network by the end of June.

Telstra has also said it has listened closely to customer feedback from the trial launch, and as a result will be increasing the included data each month from 500GB to 1000GB in its 5G home internet options.

This has also meant refining the service and network, bumping up average download speeds by 19%. This now means that typical evening speed - the speed which your internet runs at peak streaming hours at night (7pm to 11pm) currently sits at between 50Mbps and 600Mbps, with the average speed generally sitting at 378Mbps.

With these fast speeds, a 5G home internet connection could see customers potentially shift away from NBN home internet plans.

Telstra currently offers an NBN plan of premium speed and unlimited data with an average premium evening speed of up to 100Mbps between 7pm and 11pm. This plan costs $90 a month for the first six months and $110 per month thereafter.

Similarly, Optus’ premium internet entertainer NBN plan also has an average speed of 100mbps between 7pm and 11pm, and costs $100 for the first six months and $110 per month thereafter.

Telstra also says it plans to continue to work closely with NBN Co to improve the overall NBN experience for its broadband customers, and that it's confident its 5G service will continue to improve with implementation of mmWave 5G.

What’s mmWave, you ask?

mmWave is a higher frequency of 5G that has higher speeds and greater capacity at the cost of reduced ranges. The first publicly accessible mmWave 5G is expected to go live late this year or in early in 2021.