Telstra will launch a 5G home broadband service before the end of a year, CEO Andy Penn confirmed at an analyst briefing last week. Instead of using a traditional fixed line service - like the NBN - to get their homes online, customers will instead be able to use the Telstra 5G network.
Penn described Telsta's 5G home broadband as a "targeted service", essentially positioning 5G home broadband as an alternative to FTTN and fixed wireless NBN services.
"Fixed wireless is not necessarily the right solution for every customer," said Penn. "It’s definitely a very viable and particularly attractive option for customers whose experience may not be the best, either because they’re in a, perhaps a fibre to the node area, where they’ve got a long lead line on their service and therefore they’re not receiving the best experience, or where they’re getting a fixed wireless service, but over an NBN network."
Penn also suggested 5G home broadband could work as a "really good alternative" to 4G home broadband as well as ADSL.
Telstra has yet to confirm what customers can expect to pay for its fixed wireless 5G service, or how its plans might be structured.
The move is notable as Telstra has typically shied away from discussing 5G as an NBN alternative. While the telco offers 5G mobile broadband plans maxing out at 200GB per month, it hasn't pitched these as a replacement to a fixed line connection.
Speaking at an event at the of last year, Telstra Group Executive for Consumer and Small Business, Michael Ackland, said he believed fixed-line connectivity - such as the NBN - will still play a role in dealing with large downloads.
"I don't think there is a future where that fixed experience won't play a role in dealing with large data downloads," said Ackland. "I think you've got to look for a range of connectivity experiences to [address large downloads]. 5G will not solve all of those issues."
Penn pointed to larger spectrum availability - especially in the higher frequencies used for mmWave 5G - as a reason 5G home broadband can better compete toe-to-toe. Telstra will be able to bid for up to 1000MHz of 26GHz spectrum at the upcoming auction. For comparison, Telstra owns 60MHz of 3.6Ghz spectrum in major cities - which it currently uses to deliver its existing 5G network, and 20MHz of 700Mhz spectrum - which it uses for 4G. The greater amount a spectrum a telco holds, the less chance of congestion, which is especially pertinent when trying to replace a fixed line connection.
5G - especially at very high frequencies - does however travel a shorter distance than 4G and can have a hard time penetrating walls. As such, mass 5G deployment can require more infrastructure investment.
While Penn said the decision to introduce 5G home wireless broadband plans "isn't a case of taking on NBN", Telstra stands to earn significantly more selling 5G home broadband than it does NBN. Telstra resells NBN plans from NBN Co at a margin of 1.8%. With 5G home broadband, this would be much higher since Telstra owns the infrastructure in question.
Optus began offering 5G home broadband in August last year, and there are currently 426,000 households in its service area. Optus 5G home broadband plans are billed at $70 per month. The telco advertises average download speeds of 174Mbps, and customers can leave without penalty if they're getting speeds under 50Mbps.
In addition, Optus recently opened up 5G home broadband to wholesale partners. SpinTel was the first to jump on board, and is already selling its own 5G home broadband product.
Alex Choros
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