Optus confirms it successfully acquired new regional licences for its customers in the 3.6 GHz spectrum band, earmarked for 5G telecommunications services, as announced by Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Optus won 47 regional lots for a total amount of $185.1 million across North and Central Queensland, South East Queensland/Northern NSW, regional Victoria and South Australia, Tasmania and Southern/Western NSW.
These new regional spectrum licences add to Optus’ existing large holdings of metropolitan 3.4 GHz spectrum and will enable Optus to offer 5G services to customers across Australia.
Optus Networks Managing Director Dennis Wong said, “The additional spectrum positions Optus strongly to deliver 5G services in cities, regions and holiday locations. We are committed to commercially launching Fixed Wireless Access services early in 2019 and we can now extend these services to Regional Australia.”
“Optus continues to invest in our network where it matters most to people, where they live, work and play. Whether you live in the cities, regional centres or smaller remote towns, we are expanding our premium national mobile network and improving customer experience,” Wong said.
Optus has delivered live trials and shared 5G proof of concepts in its network and in test environments including a world class 5G Live! showcase during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games which featured 8K video streaming on-the-go on Optus’s live 5G trial indoor and outdoor network, in which speeds of 16Gbps were achieved.
