Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) and Nokia started field tests using 700MHz spectrum, tapping the low-band airwaves to complement its 3.5GHz 5G deployment.
In a statement, the companies claimed the use of the 700MHz band in a 5G network is the first in the Asia-Pacific region, with tests running on 5G sites in and around Parramatta in Western Sydney.
While the operator hasn’t formally announced the launch of 5G services, in late February VHA CEO Inaki Berroeta said within weeks it would switch on its first 5G sites [1].
The 700MHz spectrum, which improves both outdoor and indoor coverage, will be rolled out in selected areas as part the operator’s 5G rollout.
Berroeta said the 700MHz spectrum will “complement our existing 5G network plans and help deliver the benefits of 5G’s speed, capacity and coverage”.
Last week, the country’s market leader Telstra claimed to be one of the first operators in the world to deploy standalone (SA) 5G [2], following a RAN upgrade covering its entire next-generation network. The operator said Ericsson deployed a cloud-native 5G core to handle the SA traffic.
Rival Optus started commercial mobile 5G operations [3] in November 2019, six months after Telstra [4].
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/asia/asia-news/vha-losses-widen-on-merger-uncertainties/
[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/telstra-claims-5g-first-with-sa-upgrade/
[3] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/asia/asia-news/optus-pitches-into-5g-with-mobile-home-services/
[4] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/asia/asia-news/telstra-steps-up-5g-rollout-as-devices-hit-market/
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk