The two companies and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia will explore 5G edge computing cases for the banking sector
Australian carrier Telstra, network equipment vendor Ericsson and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia have announced plans to explore and trial 5G edge computing technologies for the financial services sector.
The collaboration aims to bring technology providers and the financial services sector together to fully explore 5G edge computing use cases and network capabilities by testing end-to-end banking solutions over 5G, the partners said.
The trials are expected to showcase how 5G edge computing can help to reduce the network infrastructure currently required at individual bank branches.
Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nikos Katinakis, Telstra’s group executive for networks and IT, said the three partners will work together over the coming months to test and trial innovative 5G experiences for banking customers.
“5G has the potential to transform the financial services sector and deliver innovation in a faster and more efficient manner,” Katinakis said. “5G edge computing is all about bringing the network closer to the user or application. For financial institutions like Commonwealth Bank, it will help to enhance existing banking applications as well as deliver new use cases such as artificial intelligence, all supported by a range of software defined networking solutions.”
“Through this collaboration, we will see first-hand the benefit that 5G will bring to a range of industries, and we’re delighted to be collaborating with these two leading businesses, to drive 5G innovation in Australia,” said Emilio Romeo, head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand.
Telstra began switching on 5G technology in August 2018. Since then, the telco has enabled 5G sites in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Launceston, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast.
At the beginning of 2018, Telstra opened a 5G Innovation Center on the Gold Coast, with the main aim of testing next-generation technologies to support the early commercial deployment of 5G mobile services in Australia.
Telstra plans to launch commercial 5G services in 2019. Telstra has previously said that it would work with Ericsson on key 5G technologies including massive multiple-input, multiple-output (massive MIMO), adaptive beamforming and beam tracking and OFDM-based waveforms in its Gold Coast center.
