The Australian telco said it will use 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band
Australian firm NBN Co., which is currently rolling out the country’s National Broadband Network (NBN), announced plans to launch 5G trials this week in partnership with Swedish vendor Ericsson in Melbourne.
The operator will use 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band for the 5G trial, as well as Ericsson’s 5G New Radio equipment.
The telco said the trial will allow the firm to see how this new technology can improve its fixed-wireless service.
NBN currently operates over 2,500 fixed-wireless macro sites across Australia, providing the service to around 225,000 premises.
“We really want to use these tests to find out more about the technology and how it can help us deliver better services to our fixed wireless end-users across Australia,” NBN’s Chief Technology Officer Ray Owen said.
“That being said, we are certainly not done with 4G yet and we have a number of initiatives under way using next0generation 4G technology such as MIMO to deliver an improved end-user experience on fixed wireless – but we absolutely want to look at what 5G will offer in the future to all Australians wherever they may live,” Onwen added.
Optus recently showcased 5G use cases including 8K video streaming on its live 5G trial network during the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
The 5G showcase allowed visitors to experience 5G-based services in advance of a planned initial commercial rollout next year, Optus said.
The showcase included demonstrations of technologies including a 5G and motion-detection-controlled robotic arm as well as a game of rock-paper-scissors with a robotic hand using the high speeds and low latency of 5G and machine learning to predict the player’s moves.
Optus also showcased demonstrations of virtual reality football, cycling and driving and 360-degree video streaming.
During the Commonwealth Games, Optus successfully streamed 8K video over its outdoor 5G network while on-the-go. This was achieved through a 5G van equipped with an 8K television, which carried a prototype 5G device with the live trial network in operation, the telco said.
Meanwhile, Telstra has recently opened its 5G innovation centre in the Gold Coast region. The operator said the main aim of the new 5G facility will be to test next-generation technologies to support the early commercial deployment of 5G mobile services in Australia. Telstra aims to launch commercial 5G services in 2019.
The 5G center is central to a $58 million investment Telstra has made to upgrade infrastructure on the Gold Coast to support growing demand and major events in the area. Telstra will run extensive 5G trials on the Gold Coast during the Commonwealth Games in April this year.
Telstra 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.
