News
Australian operator details plans to conduct 5G lab trials with vendors including Huawei and Ericsson.
Vodafone Australia CEO Iñaki Berroeta said the operator plans to begin trialling 5G technology by the end of 2016, as it moves towards a commercial launch of the technology in 2020.
The operator is preparing to conduct lab trials of the next generation technology towards the end of the year, as it seeks to become one of the first operators in Australia to launch a commercial network based on global standards, ZDNet reported.
Kevin Millroy, acting CTO at Vodafone Australia, told journalists that the company will work with key equipment suppliers including Huawei and Ericsson, but did not provide detail on the exact nature of the 5G trials, ITNews reported.
The Australian news agency added that Vodafone’s 5G test schedule means the trials will begin after it has deployed the bulk of its 4G network. Vodafone Australia recently amended the terms of its licences covering the 850 MHz and 2100 MHz spectrum for use in its 4G service, the news outlet noted.
CEO Berroeta also outlined plans by the operator to conduct further trials of narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), following initial tests conducted in April. He told journalists that IoT is an important element in Vodafone Australia’s business, adding that parent company Vodafone Group is one of the biggest machine-to-machine (M2M) service providers in the world, ZDNet reported.
The company predicted that IoT revenues will hit at least A$1 billion (€676 million/US$762 million) by 2021, and that global device connections will hit 20 billion at that stage.
Vodafone Australia’s 5G timeline is broadly inline with that of rival Telstra, which ITNews noted has announced plans to begin trialling the technology using an Ericsson radio test bed in September as it, too, seeks to launch commercial services in 2020.
Berroeta also noted that Australia’s fibre-based National Broadband Network (NBN) is becoming a viable option for Vodafone Australia, and predicted that the NBN could have the scale necessary for the operator to being using it to sell fixed broadband connections within the next 12 months, the Australian Financial Review reported.
