Telstra readies mobile network with standalone 5G

Telstra has today achieved a new milestone in their 5G roll out, with the announcement that their mobile network is now ‘end-to-end enabled for 5G Standalone’.

The 5G Standalone network will operate using a Cloud Native 5G core. Non Standalone 5G networks rely on a 4G core for service which is what is currently deployed in Australia and around the world.

Telstra’s Group Executive Networks & IT, Nikos Katinakis acknowledged the milestone, launching the first 5G Standalone network in Australia, saying ‘Getting the Telstra mobile network to be 5G Standalone-ready is an important step towards unleashing greater capabilities for enterprises and consumers alike.’ For customers, he said this means ‘our new 5G service-based architecture will allow us to create innovative new services and solutions and deliver these much quicker than in the past.’

The 5G Standalone Network will give Telstra room to introduce new technology like 5G Network Slicing, which would enable them to split their physical network into multiple logical networks targeting things like mobile traffic, or IoT.

The 5G Standalone network is powered by Ericsson 5G network equipment, with Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson Australia & New Zealand saying the ‘5G NR Standalone and 5G Core is the next evolution in architecture for 5G networks, which will help to increase network efficiency and drive new uses.’

There’s no commercially available devices to utilise the network at this stage, with Telstra currently testing non-commercial devices on the 5G Standalone network. Telstra did announce that commercially available devices are expected to be released in Australia later this year.