Networking

The next big battleground for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon will revolve around 5G for business, enterprise, and edge computing. And each wireless giant has its own spin and strategy. Here’s a look at how the big three wireless carriers in the US plan on tackling the business markets. Like the consumer market, T-Mobile sees itself as a disruptive force to incumbents AT&T and Verizon, two carriers that dominate business accounts today.

T-Mobile plans to run the Uncarrier playbook in the enterpriseT-Mobile CEO Michael Sievert laid out the stakes on the wireless carrier’s investor day. Another space that’s ready for real competition and disruption is enterprise and government. For example, remember shared data plans that were so common in consumer postpaid until we forced AT&T and Verizon into unlimited about four years ago? Well, guess what, they’re still doing that to business customers. After having successfully redefined consumer wireless for good over the past 8 years, it’s time that we bring that freedom to businesses as well.Our Un-carrier value proposition has performed well with small businesses in recent years. And of course, we’ll look to continue to grow and support that part of the market. However, our share in the large enterprise and government space is less than 10%, and it’s a space where we’re winning. There are over 50 million corporate liable lines today and growing. That is a big opportunity.He added that T-Mobile sees room to run to about 20% market share over the next five years. For smaller companies, T-Mobile plans to enter the home broadband market, which will also double as connectivity for home-based businesses. Michael Katz, executive vice president of T-Mobile for Business, said the company is looking to target enterprise, public sector, and SMBs. Katz added that T-Mobile is looking to gain share in corporate-liable smartphone plans as well as adjacent services. Must read:

Katz highlighted the following:T-Mobile home office Internet product is designed so enterprises can provide employees with in-office connectivity when working remote. Private networks for various business use cases in banking, automotive, and manufacturing. Enterprise unlimited plans to simplify purchasing.”We will invest in making sure that T-Mobile is not just on the map, but we’re on the top of mind for every CIO across America, opening up more of the market to us. And like I mentioned, we plan to win with the best team, including expanded and specialized sales in dedicated care,” said Katz. He added that T-Mobile will expand its sales teams to focus on verticals as well as technologies. T-Mobile executives said 5G will also drive IoT, mobile edge computing, and private network opportunities, but those emerging markets aren’t baked into the company’s outlook.
T-Mobile
Verizon melds 5G with edge computing, IoT

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While T-Mobile aims to add mobile enterprise accounts and move up the stack, Verizon is all about melding 5G with edge computing and creating an ecosystem with tech giants such as AWS and Microsoft Azure. Verizon’s investor day last week featured a heavy dose of 5G as well as enterprise partnerships. Must read:Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business, said:We’ll serve customer segments, small and medium, global enterprise and our public sector. And we’ve continued to do that. We have never been better positioned to meet the needs of our business customers. And the ability to clearly articulate and deliver, not only network products but above network on platforms and solutions, whether it’s mobile edge compute, whether it’s private networks, what we’re doing around real-time enterprise solutions. We had 10 million new machine-to-machine connections last year alone. And as you think about mobile edge compute, the sensors that go out, the sensor densification, the ability to really be there for our customers, small and medium, global enterprise, public sector, not only with connectivity but really winning above connectivity.Erwin said Verizon’s partnerships with AWS and Microsoft Azure on cloud and edge computing give the company a line into edge computing market share. Erwin said Verizon is also gunning for the applications market as well as 5G, Internet of Things, and edge computing. We have a direct line of sight to the applications and solutions marketplace, another $12 billion addressable opportunity by 2025 that we will commercialize through our growing partner ecosystem. And we’re not wasting any time. We’ve already started developing enterprise solutions with IBM, Cisco, Deloitte and SAP across many industry verticals, including manufacturing, retail, distribution and logistics. Verizon Business is well positioned to capture significant edge compute share through our existing assets. We are in market today with leading cloud providers and expect to continue growing our roster of market making partnerships. The upshot from Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg is that enterprise and business use cases will expand the company’s market. “Whether it is through 5G mobility, fixed wireless access or mobile edge compute or any of these other technologies we are looking at breakthroughs that both solidify and expand the total addressable market that Verizon serves,” said Vestberg. Must read:Not surprisingly, Verizon also plans on using 5G to keep broadband customers with fixed wireless services. Verizon 5G Business Internet will continue to expand too, but the wireless carrier is looking to play higher in the networking stack.
Verizon
AT&T’s business play: Combining 5G with fiberAT&T’s investor day revolved around HBO Max as well as 5G and consumer businesses. However, enterprises matter to AT&T too. AT&T’s spin on 5G for business includes a heavy dose of last-mile fiber. Jeffery Scott McElfresh, CEO of AT&T Communications, said the company is looking to grow both its fiber and wireless businesses. He said:While both mobile and fixed broadband usage is growing, we’re actually seeing an increased dependence on the fixed network as it provides the performance and capacity customer applications require. And while this trend has been recently influenced by COVID-19, as employees work from home and students learn from home, it’s a trend that we expect will continue. This increased dependence on the fixed network gives us confidence that AT&T’s hybrid fixed, and mobile networks are well positioned to capture growth in this environment.According to AT&T, the hybrid approach to 5G and fiber is critical because customer segments have different demand curves. “Businesses need a combination of fast, reliable, and secure fixed and wireless solutions for their distributed workforce. Students are highly mobile, preferring the flexibility of remote education offered over wireless platforms. The performance, capacity, and cost advantages make the fixed network relevant to serve all of these customer segments,” said McElfresh.AT&T’s business portfolio includes 5G, secure fiber, private networks, and value-add efforts to support voice and collaboration. FirstNet is AT&T’s primary play for the public sector with customers including police departments, fire departments, FEMA, FBI, and the Coast Guard. Like Verizon, AT&T is also focused on the enterprise ecosystem and edge computing. AT&T counts IBM, Accenture, Google, and Deloitte as partners. Key verticals for AT&T’s 5G enterprise efforts include:Sports and venues.Retail.Gaming.Travel and transportation.Education.Healthcare.Edge computing.And security, public sector, and public safety.  
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Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner examines an IoT-enabled weather station at the launch of the project.
Image: Telstra
Telstra has teamed up with the Queensland government and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) to run an Internet of Things (IoT) pilot program to help local farmers gain access to more accurate weather forecasts so they can manage the effects of weather and climate change on their farms.As part of the pilot’s first phase, 55 IoT weather stations will be deployed to existing Telstra mobile network sites, private farms, and at the Department Agriculture and Fishers’ research facilities in the Lockyer Valley, Esk, Gatton, Toowoomba, Cecil Plains, and Darling Downs areas, to gather “hyper-local” weather data. Once the data is collected, Telstra Technology Development and Solutions executive Channa Seneviratne said it would be checked, cleaned, and organised before it’s passed on to BoM to develop hyper-local weather forecasts for the region. The data collection and trial phases will run until late 2021, with Telstra saying the data will be freely available to project participants via the Telstra Data Hub.  “Our hope is that the trial can develop an economically sustainable service that helps Queensland agribusiness, and also enable us to develop a sustainable and equitable partner model to eventually deploy the thousands of IoT weather stations to enhance our regional economy and international competitiveness,” Seneviratne said. Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner added more accurate weather forecasts and localised weather observations will help farmers better manage their farms. “Access to better local weather data will support improved management decisions on crop production, labour and the supply chain,” he said.

“Agribusiness is a weather-dependent business. Access to highly localised weather observations and forecasts will give agribusiness improved insights to the local weather.”Back in 2018, Telstra partnered with “major water utilities” on its Digital Water Metering IoT solution in an effort to prevent water wastage and bring down customer bills. Telstra launched its NB-IoT network in January during CES 2018, with the company touting at the time the NB-IoT network would provide connectivity for IoT devices with smaller packets of data being sent, such as sensors in the mining, agricultural, transport, logistics, manufacturing, and industrial IoT industries.  Related Coverage More

Nokia plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs and take the savings to invest in its 5G networking business. The restructuring, announced by Nokia Tuesday, will save EUR 600 million by the end of 2023. According to Nokia, the savings from the restructuring will gradually be reinvested in new products and research and development. Nokia plans to outline its strategy and long-term outlook during its Capital Market Day on Thursday.Target markets for Nokia will be 5G, cloud and digital infrastructure. Nokia added that it will take charges of EUR 600 million to EUR 700 million with 50% of that hit to land in 2021. The remainder of the charges will be taken in 2022 and 2023. The company added that the total amount of job cuts will be determined by market conditions. Ultimately, Nokia expects to have a workforce of 80,000 to 85,000 down from 90,000 today.As for the restructuring, Nokia will form three business groups.

Mobile Networks will focus on 5G and wireless mobility networks. Nokia plans to streamline its portfolio in mature and declining markets such as 4G. Cloud and Network Services will move to more of an as-a-service model and refocus on emerging growth opportunities. To that end, Nokia announced partnerships with AWS, Microsoft and Google Cloud on March 15. Network Infrastructure will remain largely unchanged but spend on advancing Nokia’s portfolio via more R&D. In February, Nokia reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results with sales of €6.6 billion and €0.14 a share. In 2020, Nokia delivered sales of €21.9 billion. Related: More

Cisco has appointed a new vice president for Latin America as part of a strategy to accelerate the uptake and evolution of the company’s networking systems in the region in a context of digital transformation.The new incumbent is Laércio Albuquerque, who started yesterday (15) in the new role after leading Cisco’s operations in Brazil over the last five years. According to the firm, Albuquerque’s promotion will see the executive “leading sales in the region and helping customers digitize faster to achieve social and economic impact. The previous VP, Jordi Botifoll, has retired.

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According to Cisco, the company is currently searching for a new leader for its Brazilian subsidiary. The company will not appoint an interim country head, but a transition leader in place until a permanent replacement is found. Cisco is not disclosing the name of the temporary leader.”[Albuquerque] is the right leader for Cisco Latin America. His sharp focus on growth, culture and digital transformation will be fundamental as our clientes and partners move towards resuming their businesses strategies”, said Jeff Sharritts, senior Vice President for sales at Cisco Americas. During his stint as president for the company’s Brazilian market, Albuquerque led various initiatives around digital transformation engaging the private sector and governments, as well as projects geared around building local technology skills through the company’s Cisco Networking Academy. Albuquerque’s 35-year career prior to Cisco included a number of leadership positions in Brazil and Latin America at CA Technologies, where he worked for two decades. More

New Zealanders increased their broadband usage at the peak of the pandemic last year, with the average fixed broadband usage rising to 284GB in June 2020, which was a 37% uptick from the year prior.
“Our 2020 monitoring report includes the first COVID-19 lockdown period and it shows that changes in the way Kiwis worked, learned, and played led to significant growth in fixed broadband usage,” said Telecommunications commissioner Tristan Gilbertson.
Mobile data usage also increased by 22% year-on-year to 3.3GB per month during that same period.
The data usage trends were released by New Zealand’s Commerce Commission (ComCom) as part of its annual telecommunications monitoring report [PDF], which also unveiled total industry and connection metrics.  
Despite the increases in data usage, government testing showed that copper and fibre download speeds stayed fairly steady for most households. On average, download speeds for copper and Fibre 100 plans were largely unaffected while average download speeds for Fibre Max decreased by about 4%, the report said. 
Fixed wireless performance decreased by around 25% during April last year, however, which the report said was a reflection of the susceptibility of performance dips of these services.
For the year to June 2020, New Zealand’s telecommunications retail industry saw revenue decline by NZ$200 million when compared to the previous year, while investment dipped NZ$100 million.

Gilbertson said the drop in investment during the year was primarily due to the Ultra-Fast Broadband network now being 93% complete. Specifically, copper access investment decreased by 19% in 2020 to NZ$269 million, with Chorus to start cutting its copper connections in September.
Despite revenue and investment dipping due to the pandemic, more Kiwis continued to shift to fibre connections, with over 1 million Kiwis now using this type of connection, a 20% year-on-year increase. By comparison, copper broadband only comprised of 487,000 connections as of June 2020.
“Total copper broadband connections dropped 24% to 441,000. This drop occurred across all variants, including higher speed VDSL. This continues the trend seen in 2019 when copper broadband connections dropped 23%,” the report said.
In total, there were 1.79 million fixed-line connections in the country as of June 2020.
Households also continued to move away from landlines for calling with residential landline connections down 12%. Over half of household fixed-line connections now have no voice service, according to the report.
Spark continued to be the biggest fixed broadband retailer for the year to June 2020, holding 40% of the market. This was followed by Vodafone with 21%, Vocus with 13%, and 2degrees 7%.
2degrees overtook Trustpower to become the fourth largest provider with its 7% market share.
While major fixed broadband retailers continued to hold the lion’s share of the market during the year, smaller telecommunications providers continued to grow their market share in the fixed-broadband market, upping their share from 11% to 13% in 2020.
Looking at mobile, there were 6.2 million mobile connections as of June 2020, with 51% of these connections comprised of pre-paid plans.
Border closures restricting travel led to total mobile roaming revenue dropping 15% to NZ$96.6 million in the year to 30 June 2020. Revenue from domestic customers roaming overseas also fell by 20%.
“The impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions can be seen in the decline of mobile roaming revenue for mobile network operators, with revenue from New Zealanders roaming overseas falling by 20%”, Gilbertson said.  
Vodafone and Spark both took 40% of the mobile market each. 2degrees’ share of the market, meanwhile, was down from 22% to 19% this year. MVNO subscribers made up the final 1.4% of the mobile market.
Last week, 2degrees, Spark, and Vodafone committed to providing more information and tools to support consumer choice before the end of the year, following calls from ComCom to address transparency and inertia issues regarding retail service quality.
According to ComCom, the telcos have jointly agreed to provide at least 12 months’ usage and spend information to customers; provide customers with an annual summary of their usage and spend along with a prompt to consider alternative options; and promote the development of tools to enable more effective comparison and choice for telco consumers through the nation’s Telecommunications Forum.
As part of developing the comparison tools, the telcos will also develop a prospective CDR to make it easier for customers to compare plans and providers. 
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When Jason Cipriani and I interviewed Tobin Richardson, president of the Zigbee Alliance, last week about the Alliance’s involvement in NASA JPL’s Mars 2020 mission, I didn’t think I would be applying its technology to my own personal use anytime soon. I had just finished converting my home to Lutron’s Caseta lighting system, which (currently) uses a different wireless standard. I also have a handful of Philips Hue bulbs that I use in various lamps around my home.
Last night, at around 11 pm, my wife told me that Alexa was no longer able to switch off any Hue lights. There happen to be a pair in use in my main bedroom as bedside lamps. Sure enough, after investigating the issue, it turned out that Philips Hue’s cloud service and Alexa skill got disconnected from my system. 
After attempting to reset the skill and reconnect it to my Alexa, I saw this message:

The dreaded disconnection. 
Jason Perlow/ZDNet
This is, of course, extremely frustrating when you’ve integrated all your lighting into a smart home system. Not being able to turn off your lights unless being done manually entirely defeats the purpose of that.
So, this morning, I dug into this a bit more. I opened up the Hue app on my iPhone, which I haven’t used in a very long time, only to set the bulbs up. Under the Hue app’s software version, I noticed that the Hub reported a Zigbee version number. 

It suddenly dawned on me that if Hue hub is communicating via Zigbee, then, in theory, I should be able to natively connect the Hue bulbs to my Echo Gen 4 smart speakers — which, it turns out, you now can do. Eero Pro 6 Wi-Fi access points (as well as the Echo Show series of devices) also have Zigbee transceivers built into them, bypassing the need to use Hue’s app and hub entirely and without the need for additional cloud service integration.
Go native Zigbee on Alexa
To migrate your Hue bulbs (and smart plugs) to Amazon Alexa’s native Zigbee, you’ll want to open up the Hue app and remove your bulbs and other devices from the app. This will cause them to blink momentarily and put them in a factory reset mode. If you have another brand of Zigbee-compatible bulb, a smart plug, or other smart lighting device and are using them with another manufacturer’s Zigbee hub and cloud service, you’ll want to do the same thing and remove the bulbs from their app and set them back to factory settings.

Next, open the Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet and go through the “Add Device” procedure. Then, pick “Light,” “Plug,” or any other type of Zigbee-compatible device you want to add. If you have older models of Echo that do not have Zigbee built-in, such as a Gen 3 or Gen 2, or even a Gen 1, you also have the option of adding the vendor’s hub (providing it is one of the supported brands) to the Alexa network, bypassing the need for an additional cloud service. Hue’s hub can also be directly connected to Alexa if you choose to do so.

Use the “Add Device” sequence to add your Hue and other Zigbee-compatible bulbs to Alexa.
Image: Jason Perlow/ZDNet
The Alexa app will ask you to choose which vendor of device you want to add. If the manufacturer is listed, such as Philips, you can directly choose that brand. Otherwise, pick “other,” and Alexa will automatically recognize it after completing the discovery process.

You can directly add any number of Zigbee-compatible devices to the Alexa network without needed additional skill service integration, including control hubs for Philips Hue.
Image: Jason Perlow/ZDNet
After the discovery process is complete, you can now add the smart home devices to groups of your choosing, as well as disconnect the vendor’s hub from your network.

A Philips Hue lightbulb connected to Alexa via native Zigbee.
Jason Perlow/ZDNet
For folks like myself who have fairly normal needs with smart lighting — I only really turn them on and off and dim them as needed — this is an excellent way to simplify the device integration with your smart home system and gives you improved flexibility on buying new bulbs and devices provided they are native Zigbee supported. Be advised that while Alexa does support color modes and other scene controls, it may not be as granular or as sophisticated as what Philips and other vendors can do with their native apps and hub connectivity. So, your mileage may vary.

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As working from home is now quickly becoming entrenched in the workforce, a reliable internet connection is a must. 

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Bandwidth is now demanded by not only our PCs, but also our mobile devices, Internet of Things (IoT) products, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming services. With so many of us now spending a substantial amount of time at home, especially when there are multiple people in the same property, the fight for capacity can lead to a host of connectivity issues. 
Also: How to optimize your network for remote work and learning
However, it’s not just a fight for access to social media or Netflix. Working remotely and homeschooling have now been added to the mix, and we are more dependent than ever on having a stable internet connection in our daily lives.
Connectivity drops, bottlenecks, slow content streaming and downloads, or simply slow speeds are all common issues with home internet. 
Below, we explore seven major reasons why your internet might be slow — and how to fix them. 
Bandwidth caps
A low-cost subscription from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may have once served you well for occasionally checking your email or watching a YouTube video at home. Now, when you need a connection that can manage IoT, you need to maintain a remote Microsoft Teams work meeting, your child is using Zoom while attending a virtual lesson, and another person is gaming at the same time, if you have constant speed problems, this is the first thing you should consider. 

Before examining your hardware, you should make sure you are on a package that is likely to be able to cope with today’s array of devices and demand. As noted by ZDNet’s Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, a minimum speed of 30Mbps is recommended. 
See also: Slow Wi-Fi? 8 ways to speed up your home office network
What’s my speed?
If you are already on a package such as fiber and there’s no reason why you are suffering slow internet speeds because of what you are paying for, head over to Speedtest.net to check your connection speed in real-time. 
This free service will ping and check your download and upload speeds, as shown in progress below:

If you are paying for a package of up to 30Mbps and are only receiving speeds of 2 or 3Mbps, for example, it may be an issue with your ISP and physical cables. At this point, it is worth checking in with your provider to see if there is an outage in the area. Flickering lights on your router may also indicate a problem outside of your home. 
However, if it is only a specific service online that you’re having trouble with, go to Down for everyone or just me, type in the address, and check to see if your slow speed or failed connection to a domain is a third-party problem or outage. 
Location, location, location 
There are two general categories of hardware used to connect your home: a traditional router or a mesh network. 
Traditional routers take on the role of a center point to link you to your ISP service. These routers are centralized hubs that manage traffic through one access point. 
Also: Mesh networking vs. traditional Wi-Fi routers: What is best for your home office?
In comparison, mesh networks are a relatively new entrant on the market that create a web of nodes for internet access. Instead of every home device connecting to one router, these products include a hub and nodes that can be dotted around different areas of your home — and devices will connect to the closest node to access the internet.
If you are using traditional hardware, such as a default router provided by your ISP, you need to keep in mind that the further away you are, the higher the risk of connection problems, slow speeds, and dropouts. A simple solution is to move your router — perhaps, closer to your home office — or invest in a Wi-Fi extender to boost signal strength. 
Objects, too, can impede connections between your devices and a router. If possible, try to keep clutter around your router to a minimum. 
Larger properties or home offices located in a garden or yard, however, may simply not be serviceable by one centralized internet hub. If this is the case, moving your router won’t be enough, and it may be time to consider a mesh network instead. 
On this note, both categories can provide reasonable speeds — but mesh networks do tend to sacrifice some speed for improved connectivity. If you require direct, high-speed connections for streaming, gaming, and power-hungry work applications, an upgrade to your standard router is a worthwhile investment and will likely perform better than a mesh setup. 
There is also no point in signing up a high-speed internet plan if your old hardware cannot support it, and so you need to consider the age of your router if you are having trouble with slow speeds. 
See also:  
Check your wiring
Something that may be overlooked but could cause connectivity or speed issues is the wiring linking your router to a phone jack or PC. If they are old, you may want to consider refreshing them and replacing older ADSL/Ethernet wires and see if this solves the issue. 
Piggyback?
If you are suffering slow speeds, this may be because someone else is hijacking your internet subscription. Routers usually come with a randomized password set as default and printed on a sticker on your router, but if you have changed your password to something weak or have a Wi-Fi hotspot open, this could indicate that others are using your network without consent. 
To lock your connection or change your password, head over to your router’s configuration page in a browser. You will need to check your vendor’s specific router address use — which is usually something comparable to 192.168.0.1  — or perform a Google search with your router type and this should provide the address you need to access router settings. 
Crowded channels
Wi-Fi channels facilitate the sending and receipt of data. When you have too many connections, this may cause a bottleneck that slows down your broadband. Depending on which channels your router uses, you may be able to switch to less congested traffic paths. 
There are different Android and iOS apps to analyze your Wi-Fi channels easily and reveal what devices are connected to your network. In order to change channels, you can sign in to your router’s configuration page and select from available options. 
A slow VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) is software that adds a layer of encryption to connections made between your device and servers, as well as masks your IP address. Now many of us are working from home, offices may require you to use a VPN to access corporate resources. 
You can either subscribe to a VPN as a paying customer or opt for a free service. Paid options are usually faster but can still slow down your internet as you are using a relay for traffic — and if the VPN service is being used at peak times, there may also be congestion. 
Also: Best VPN services for 2021: Safe and fast don’t come for free 
A quick fix is often to try a different location option offered by your VPN; for example, London users set to a New York server could try using a different server located in the UK. Not all VPNs, either, are created equal, and there can be substantial differences between the speeds on offer. 
Free VPNs are generally not recommended because in return for free access, there is always a trade-off — whether this is in security, your personal data, or speed. If you are using a free VPN option and the low speed is intolerable, you may want to consider signing up for a paid service instead. 
Read on: 
Further tips:
Reset: Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the right one. If your speed is suffering, try unplugging your router, leaving it for 10 seconds or so, and restarting. In the same way that a PC sometimes needs a refresh, routers sometimes do, too. 
Check your background usage: Some mobile apps and PC programs with heavy resource demands or streaming requirements may take up bandwidth that you otherwise need without you realizing it. 
Keep your security up-to-date: Another factor not to be missed is the possibility of malware infections. If your internet has slowed down without reason, it may be that malware is hijacking your browser and exploiting your Wi-Fi connection. You should frequently scan your system to keep it clean.
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Telstra has finalised testing for its low band 5G spectrum and will now begin rolling it out as part of its commercial 5G network.
The low band spectrum, in the 850MHz range, is currently used for the telco’s 3G network. With 3G traffic progressively declining as consumers move to newer technologies, Telstra has been working towards repurposing part of that spectrum for its 5G network.
“The tests and rollout, which started last November, have added another dimension to our 5G offering with parts of the network now able to do a 5G data session over distances exceeding 80km,” Telstra said.
According to Channa Seneviratne, a Telstra technology development and solutions executive, the addition of low band spectrum to the telco’s 5G network will allow it to offer broader 5G coverage to “hard to reach places”.
“We are continuing to test and optimise 5G, work that will unlock further advanced 5G capabilities such as the aggregation of more carrier frequencies, lower latency like the ~ 5mSec we demonstrated previously and the progression of the 5G StandAlone Network which we first enabled in May 2020,” Seneviratne said.
He added that Telstra is currently testing the use of 700MHz spectrum for low band 5G purposes.
The Australia government’s 5G policy outline, released last year, stated that lower band spectrum, such as those in the 850MHZ and 900MHz bands, are important for broader 4G and 5G coverage in areas such as regional Australia.

“A reconfiguration will support the deployment of 4G and 5G networks and support more efficient use of the spectrum,” the policy said  
As of March, Telstra has 3,000 5G sites on-air across Australia and remains on track to roll out its 5G network to more than 75% of the population by the end of June, it said.
Telstra hit the 50% mark in January and had set up 2,650 5G sites around the country at that point.
Last week, Macquarie Telecom announced it would be moving on from using Telstra’s network for its telecommunications business, opting to use Optus’ 5G mobile network instead. The multi-year deal, valued at AU$34 million, will see Macquarie Telecom offer 5G plans, Wi-Fi calling, and VoLTE plans using Optus’ network to its customers.
According to Macquarie Telecom group executive Luke Clifton, the telecommunications provider opted for Optus’ network as it has been “enabling partnership in Australia’s 5G development while others are ‘actively inhibiting’ it”.
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