Today Telstra has become the first Australian telco to become 5G-ready, switching on 5G technology for testing across selected areas of the Gold Coast. This announcement marks the beginning of Telstra's 5G mobile network roll-out, with more than 200 5G-capable sites planned to be live around the country by the end of the year.
Telstra has been making in-roads into a 5G deployment for some time, having brought the world's first 5G-powered public Wi-Fi hotspots to the Gold Coast in March this year. Australia's largest telco is not the only carrier working on a 5G network, of course. Optus has previously announced it will start deploying 5G networks by early next year, while Vodafone seems set to follow in 2020.
Of course, Gold Coast residents and visitors won't be able to take advantage of Telstra's 5G connectivity yet. There are no 5G smartphones commercially available in Australia right now, and the first are not expected to become available until sometime next year.
In the meantime, Telstra says the switch-on will allow real-world testing of pre-commercial 5G phones in Australian conditions. In a statement, Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said the switch-on means Telstra can "connect compatible commercial 5G devices for customers in 5G areas as they become available."
What is 5G?
5G is the next major evolution in mobile network technology. As with 4G before it, it's focus is on bringing faster internet connections via mobile devices.
At this stage it's difficult to get a firm grasp on real-world 5G speeds but, based on recent real-world trials, we think it might be anywhere between 28x and 60x faster than 4G.
See our guides on 4G vs 5G and Everything you need to know about 5G for more information.
Jacqui Dent
Editorial Strategist
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