Telstra and Ericsson complete 100 km 5G data call

Telstra and Ericsson have announced the successful completion of a 100 km long-range 5G data call on a mid-band Time Division Duplex (TDD) Advanced Antenna System (AAS) radio in a live commercial network.

The long-range 5G data call, said to be a world first, was conducted at Burra in South Australia — approximately two hours north of Adelaide — and was made possible through a new software feature that extends the maximum cell range from 15 km out to 100 km. The extended range feature will enable Telstra to broaden the benefits of 5G massive MIMO AAS radios to even more rural and regional areas, delivering 5G capacity and downlink speeds to more customers.

While this feature will not extend reach where it is already limited by terrain, vegetation or other obstructions, in situations where an area has clear line of sight to the antenna on an enabled site, a connection can be established as far as 100 km. The result is that there will be many areas in regional and rural Australia where effective 5G coverage will now reach well beyond 15 km, meaning more 5G coverage in more places.

“We have a responsibility to deliver the very best connectivity to regional customers, including the benefits and the experience of 5G,” said Nikos Katinakis, Telstra Group Executive Global Network & Technology. “We’re working hard and making sure we invest in the world’s best technology to make sure all Australians have access to the largest and most reliable network now and in the future. This world-first achievement is just one of the ways we are committed to improving coverage over time.”

Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson, Australia and New Zealand, added, “Once again Telstra and Ericsson are leading the industry to extend the reach of new mobile technologies. This milestone is another example of how we’re innovating to deliver connectivity to more Australians.”

Telstra will selectively enable this long-range capability where it can provide a coverage benefit based on each mobile site’s local requirements and environment. Once testing is complete, and based on device dependencies, it is expected that selective field deployments will start later this year.

Image credit: iStock.com/Pattarisara Suvichanarakul