While the devices that launch here in Barcelona are shiny and feature rich, they are nothing without the mobile networks they connect to. It’s those networks that dominate the show floor at Mobile World Congress and today Telstra sat side by side with their network partners to re-affirm their commitment to 5G as our next big step forward.
While this next advanced network has been discussed for some time (many years), it’s now almost a reality with 2019 slated as the timeframe for Telstra’s Australian launch in a number of major cities and regional centres across Australia.
This doesn’t come cheap, Chief Operating Office Robyn Denholm outlining the $5 billion investment over three years leading up to next June “5G will help deliver the next industrial revolution, unlocking opportunities across industries and markets and we want to ensure Australians are among the first in the world to gain access to it,” Ms Denholm said.
“5G will be a critical building block in economic competitiveness for the nation, so we are planning our
network rollout to give as many customers as possible access to 5G technology as soon as possible.
Telstra are at pains to point out that a network like this does not just turn on with the flick of a switch.
The company’s planning for 5G has been underway for years. Here’s their own timeline of activities leading up to the launch next year.
2016
2017
2018
2019
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