Smart Company: The 5G frontier - As NBN falters, should Aussie SMEs make the switch?

WhistleOut publisher Joe Hanlon talks with Smart Company about the potential value of 5G technology to small businesses:

Joseph Hanlon, editor at telecommunications comparison company Whistleout, says the value of 5G technology to SMEs will depend on the status of their existing internet plan — namely, how they faired in the so-called “NBN lottery”.

“There will be an option to use a technology other than the NBN,” Hanlon tells SmartCompany.

“Depending on the sort of connection a business has gotten from the NBN lottery, it might be exactly what they need.”

While 5G services are expected to be more pricey than 4G predecessor plans — at least in the short term — the type of plans available are expected to be similar to existing 4G options, albeit with faster speeds.

Hanlon says initial Whistleout testing with 5G devices has shown they can be three times faster than maximum NBN speeds, but that in reality consumers should expect a service that’s just as good as the NBN.

“We should expect 5G to be as fast as the NBN, but technically speaking its capable of being much faster,” he says.