Telstra today announced that its 5G network is now "Standalone", meaning it no longer relies on 4G networks. This makes Telstra the first in Australia to launch a Standalone 5G network, and one of the first in the world.
5G networks come in two forms: Non-Standalone (NSA) and Standalone (SA). NSA 5G is built on top of a 4G network. Smartphones connect to 5G frequencies for faster connectivity speeds, but still use 4G for communicating with mobile towers and servers. NSA 5G is what we've seen in Australia to date.
SA 5G, as the name might suggest, no longer relies on 4G networks. The biggest benefit of SA 5G is lower latency. In plain terms, latency is perhaps best described as the time it takes information to get from your phone to the wider internet and back again.
The typical latency for a 4G network is around 60 milliseconds, whereas 5G could eventually decrease this to as low as 1 millisecond. This massive decrease in latency will be vital for technology such as self-driving cars, where every millisecond could make a difference in preventing a crash.
The immediate consumer benefit of SA 5G is minimal, but it could make a 5G internet connection more akin to a fixed line NBN connection in terms of latency, which would be a boon for activities like online gaming. The lower latency afforded by SA 5G will also help facilitate video game streaming services such as Google Stadia which run the game on a remote server and then beam it to your phone, TV or, computer.
HTC, the manufacturer of Vive virtual reality headsets, believes SA could help democratise high-end virtual reality.
"We envision a future where PCs won't be required for a PC VR experience," said HTC Vive ANZ Country Manager, Thomas Dexmier, when speaking to WhistleOut earlier in the year. "With the power of 5G and the high bandwidth and low latency, we will able to render VR content, straight from the cloud."
"You won't need to have a [high-end PC] in the corner of your room to deliver high graphics and super high precision in your VR experience."
"5G is where we see the next big leap forward in terms of content distribution."
At this stage, only a small number of devices support SA 5G locally. These include the Galaxy S20 5G and a trio of Huawei phones: the P40, the P40 Pro, and the Mate XS. However, we understand these won't work with Telstra SA 5G immediately and would require a software update. At this stage, there is no timeline of when this would happen.
Telstra expects 5G SA devices to work with its network in the latter part of the year, and is currently testing pre-production models of compatible handsets.
Alex Choros
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