No prepaid, no data sharing, and everything else we learnt during our first Optus 5G speed tests

Optus is the process of building its 5G network, and in a fortunate turn of events, I'm now able to get 5G coverage at my apartment. As soon as I noticed, I did what any self-respecting geek would do and ran a whole bunch of speed tests on my Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.

My S10 5G was consistently able to achieve speeds close to 300Mbps, which is between 10 and 15 times faster than what I was able to achieve on the Optus 4G network at my place. 

Here are the full results, with iPhone 11 Pro Max 4G speed tests for comparison. Telstra doesn't have 5G coverage in the area I was running Optus speed tests, but for reference, I've typically seen speeds between 200Mbps and 600Mbps in real world tests. 

It is of course worth noting that these speeds should not be taken as gospel. It's one set of speed tests at one location at one time of day.

For example, I was able to get download speeds of almost 500Mbps on the Galaxy S10 5G when in sight of the Optus 5G tower at Naremburn. Of course, my Telstra speeds also improved when that close to a tower: my iPhone 11 Pro Max recorded download speeds as fast as 520Mbps on the Telstra 4GX network.

While these speed test results aren't necessarily representative of the entire Optus 5G network, they're certainly promising. The Optus 5G network might not be hitting gigabit speeds yet, but if you're an Optus customer, a tenfold increase in speed is nothing to scoff at. 

Of course, speeds could change as more and more devices start to utilise the Optus 5G network. Right now the Optus 5G network is close to empty, but the arrival of more customers could cause congestion. For example, Optus says its 5G home wireless broadband customers experience speeds as high as 400Mbps, but that drops to an average of 164Mbps during busier hours.

It's also worth mentioning that Optus 5G isn't guaranteed to work indoors (although this should start improving from the second half of this year). I'm lucky enough to be able to get Optus 5G inside, probably due to the layout of my apartment. All the mobile signal has to penetrate is the glass that divides my living room and balcony.

In the process of testing Optus 5G, I also learnt of a few caveats. At present, Optus 5G is only available for postpaid mobile customers. 5G won't work on prepaid or mobile broadband plans, and as such, it also won't work on data sharing SIMs. Optus doesn't currently sell a 5G-ready hotspot, which explains why there's no 5G available on mobile broadband plans. The lack of 5G on data sharing SIMs is a bit of a shame, but it's somewhat of a niche use case at present, as one would need at least two 5G devices.

In order to get 5G connectivity on Optus, 5G has to be enabled on your account. If you're buying a 5G phone through Optus, this should happen when you buy your phone. However, if you've got your own 5G handset that you've bought outright or brought across from another provider, you may need to enable 5G connectivity.

You can do this through the My Optus app on Android by following these steps:

• Open the My Optus app
• Tap Service in the menu at the bottom of your screen
• Tap Settings in the menu at the top of your screen
• Tap 5G Network
• Toggle 5G to on if not already activated

Optus says it can take between 15 minutes and four hours for 5G to be enabled on your account.

15/11/21: Prepaid is now available on select Optus 5G plans

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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