Telstra activates 50th 5G site

Telstra CEO Andrew Penn signed a 5G strategic partnership agreement President and CEO Ericsson Börje Ekholm.

The signing ceremony coincided with Telstra activating its 50th 5G site in Australia. Canberra, Adelaide and Perth are among the first locations in Australia to be upgraded with 5G technology.

Adelaide’s first mobile base station to be upgraded to 5G is located in Flinders St, with Perth’s first going live at Narrows Bridge in the Perth CBD. Canberra’s first 5G base station upgrade is at Pialligo, with other sites coming online at Phillip, Lyons and two sites at Fyshwick. The base station upgrades in these three cities means that Telstra has now upgraded 50 base stations to 5G technology across the country. Other locations include Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast.

Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson said: “Telstra and Ericsson have continued to demonstrate industry leadership through ongoing innovation and collaboration with best in class partners needed to build an end-to-end 5G ecosystem. Together we have put in place the fundamentals that will enable Telstra to succeed in 5G. Through our extensive collaborative efforts, we will ensure Australia is at the cutting edge of mobile technology.”

Andrew Penn said 5G was a key element of Telstra’s T22 strategy and the decision to appoint Ericsson as its 5G technology partner was a critical one.

“Telstra has a history of investing ahead of the technology curve to ensure we have the latest capabilities in place to serve our customers. We're proud to partner with Ericsson to pioneer 5G technology in this country and to ensure that together we continue to deliver market leading innovation in networks,” said Penn.