Vodafone executive: Australia will have 5G by 2020

According to foreign media reports, Vodafone Australia Chief Technology Officer Benoit Hanssen said at an event in Sydney on Tuesday that he believed Australia would soon upgrade to 5G mobile communications networks.

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The development of 5G technology will bring faster download speeds, and users will no longer experience lag when watching videos. Currently, many countries around the world are investing in the development of 5G networks. In addition, 5G will not only make mobile phones more powerful, but will also become the backbone of various new devices, such as the Internet of Things and driverless cars.

Hansen believes Australia will be one of the first countries to support 5G technology around 2020, noting that Australia has a good track record of embracing new technologies in the past.

He said: "Australia is very enthusiastic about smartphones. Currently, Australia's smartphone penetration rate is one of the highest in the world. Australia is ready to accept new things, and most Australians have the financial ability to afford these new things. We believe that Australia will be ready when 5G technology is launched."

Australia started to build 4G in 2011, and now 4G networks have been widely deployed. Hansen said that more than 70% of Vodafone Australia's users use 4G phones, and he expects the penetration rate to reach 90% this year. However, some users are still waiting and watching. He revealed: "We still have very few 2G users."

In 2015, Vodafone Australia signed a deal with telecommunications service provider TPG to expand its fiber network. This puts Vodafone Australia in a better position for future 5G developments. However, this is a work in progress. Hansen said on Tuesday that the main part of the network has not yet been activated.

Although it is still in its early stages of development, there are many signs that 5G will change the world. In 2015, British scientists claimed to have set a new speed record of 1Tbps in a test of 5G data connection. According to the BBC, theoretically, based on this speed, it would only take about 3 seconds to download a file 100 times the size of an ordinary movie.

As for what 5G speeds will be like in 2020, Vodafone Group Chief Technology Officer Johan Wibergh said on Tuesday: "The simple answer is: we don't know yet."

He pointed out: "We need more spectrum to achieve higher internet speeds." Currently, negotiations on the release of spectrum are progressing globally, and the Australian telecommunications industry is also lobbying the government to release spectrum in more frequency bands.

Telstra, another major mobile operator in Australia, also said it would develop 5G technology. In its 2015 financial report, the company's former CEO Andrew Penn confirmed that the company plans to launch 5G services in Australia in 2020. He said: "5G meets the needs of the Internet of Things. You can imagine that by 2020, everything that can be connected to the Internet will be connected to the Internet." (Li Wei)