Super-fast start to the ‘Year of 5G’

The ‘Year of 5G’ is off to a super-fast start, with Australia ranked in the top five for 5G download speeds according to an independent global survey by Opensignal,

Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said it was an outstanding result.

“Globally, Australia ranks fifth for 5G download speeds and eighth for 5G peak download speeds, which makes us world leaders in 5G,” Minister Fletcher said. “Australian users are experiencing average speeds of over 250 Mbps on our 5G networks.”

The Minister also said the rollout of 5G would ramp up in 2021. Australia’s three major mobile networks operators now have active 5G networks. Telstra is aiming to have 75 per cent population coverage by June 2021, Optus has switched on over 1000 5G sites, and Vodafone is planning to reach more than 85 per cent of the population in Australia’s six largest cities by the end of this year.

Australia will hold two 5G spectrum auctions in 2021. In April, high band 5G spectrum (in the 26 GHz band) will become available, enabling extremely fast, high-capacity services. In December 2020, Telstra achieved a world-first 5G download speed record of 5 Gbps using high band 5G spectrum. In the second half of 2021, the Government will make low band 5G spectrum (in the 850/900 MHz band) available, which will be crucial for broader geographic coverage of 5G services.

“The Government is making spectrum available, while the telecommunications industry is ramping up the rollout of the network – we are working together to make 2021 the ‘Year of 5G’ so that all Australians can enjoy the benefits this technology will provide,” Minister Fletcher said.

To find out how you can benefit from 5G, contact a mobile network operator of your choice, or go to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications website.