News

Espoo, Finland - Nokia is set to bring 5G to New Zealand, following the announcement of the first commercial 5G network available to New Zealanders by Vodafone New Zealand.

Vodafone today announced it will take its first step into New Zealand’s 5G future and switch on a 5G network in December, starting in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.  The launch announcement coincides with today’s completion of the sale of Vodafone New Zealand to Brookfield and Infratil, and follows Vodafone’s recent rollout of 5G in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Germa

Vodafone Limited (“Vodafone”) and O2 Telefónica UK Limited (“O2”) today announced that they have agreed to share 5G active equipment, such as radio antennas, on joint network sites across the UK. This means more people will get 5G sooner, helping to build a competitive digital economy and encouraging innovative new services that use 5G’s speed and greater reliability.

The call was conducted over 3.6GHz spectrum using Ericsson’s Baseband 6630, Radio AIR6488 and a 5G SA device based on a MediaTek chipset.

This milestone follows Ericsson’s recent announcement of cutting-edge Standalone (SA) New Radio (NR) software that enables super-fast response times and new capabilities to rapidly extend 5G coverage.

Vodafone will switch on its 5G network for both consumers and business customers in seven cities across the UK on 3 July 2019. In a worldwide first, Vodafone will also offer 5G roaming in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain over the summer.

Vodafone will launch 5G in 19 towns and cities across the UK during 2019.

Today we are revealing that customers in 12 more cities will benefit from faster mobile data speeds and an ultra-responsive network when 5G goes live later this year. These additional locations join the seven cities that are already live or switching on soon under our UK-wide trial, which started last year.

(Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, 26 February 2019) Telenor Norway today announced Elverum as the first location for its 5G pilot with Ericsson. The mobile operator also revealed there will be 10 further collaborative 5G projects in Norway – and that soon, the next major city to get 5G will be named.

Denmark will soon have its first life test of 5G - this is done with equipment from Nokia on Telenor's and Telia's common mobile network. Both Telenor and Telia have previously tested the mobile technology of the future and with the establishment of the new life test, the two telecom groups will be front runners compared to 5G here in Denmark.

Telenor Group and Nokia will test 5G capabilities in both the Radio Access Network (RAN) and the mobile core network in Denmark.

Nokia will deploy AirScale base stations for piloting 5G in Telenor Denmark’s commercial radio access network and will also test new functions in the cloud-core network as part of the 5G pilot.

Spark announced today that it has completed a nationwide rollout of its Internet of Things (IoT) cellular (Cat-M1) network. Spark is the first company to confirm the nationwide completion of a Cat-M1 network in New Zealand.

The network covers 98% of New Zealand’s population and has been deployed since September on over 96% of Spark’s mobile sites.

Optus today revealed the first details of its game changing 5G Home Broadband service which is underpinned by a plan to deliver 1,200 5G sites by March 2020.

In partnership with Nokia, who are supplying the 5G RAN and Fastmile 5G CPEs, Optus 5G sites are now live in two suburbs in Canberra, with an additional site live in Sydney and 47 more sites planned to be online by March 2019.

Optus has taken another significant step towards its commercial launch of 5G today by making a 5G data call on 60 MHz using 3.5 GHz spectrum.

The call, made as part of pre-launch testing, was made from an Optus 5G site in Dickson, Canberra utilising a commercial grade 5G Radio Network and customer premises equipment (CPE) developed in partnership with Nokia.

Telia Company, TalTech University and Ericsson have launched Estonia’s first 5G network. The first 4K video live stream was transmitted today from Tallinn Old Town Christmas market.

Telia Norway has opened its first 5G test network in Norway, marking the beginning of next generation’s mobile networks in the country. First up to try it out is the Odeon movie theatre in Oslo, which is now the world's first 5G cinema.

Four companies have won valuable 5G spectrum in the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s latest spectrum auction in the 3.6 GHz band.

Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) is pleased to announce that the VHA-TPG Telecom spectrum joint venture company, Mobile JV Pty Ltd (JV), has acquired substantial spectrum holdings in all available areas in the 3.6 GHz band auction for AU$263 million.

Telstra today demonstrated its 5G leadership through a series of world and Australian firsts, including the unveiling of the world’s first connection of a 5G mid-band commercial device and Australia’s first 5G video call.

Spark New Zealand recently notified the Director-General of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), in accordance with the requirements of the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act 2013 (TICSA), of its proposed approach to implementing 5G technology on the Spark mobile network. 

EE, the UK’s number one mobile network and part of BT Group, today announced that it is switching on 5G sites in 16 UK cities in 2019. The first launch cities will be the UK’s four capital cities – London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast – and Birmingham and Manchester.

EE, the UK’s number one mobile network and part of BT Group, today announced that nine 5G trial sites are now live across East London.

The trial has so far encompassed every element of building a new 5G network, from obtaining planning permission and access agreements, through to managing power outputs. The trial will go on to assess the customer experience of new 5G spectrum.

Telstra today announced Ericsson as its key 5G partner under an agreement that will see the two companies partner to deliver the next generation of mobile technology for Australia.

The agreement, signed by Telstra and Ericsson today, marks another important milestone in the nation’s 5G technology development and rollout.

EE, part of the BT Group, has switched on its first live 5G trial site. This will be the UK’s first live 5G trial, and is a major milestone in the rollout of the next generation of mobile networks.

From now on, Elisa's mobile network in Estonia is the first opportunity to connect a very large number of devices to the Internet of Things, which makes it much smarter for everyday life.

Vodafone today conducted the UK’s first live holographic call using 5G technology. This is a significant milestone in UK communications. The speed of 5G will enable applications as diverse as remote robotic surgery and 4K gaming on the move.

In a world first, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), Telstra and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, have successfully completed the 2Gbps capable LTE data call using Telstra's live commercial network in the regional center of Toowoomba in Queensland Australia, in the latest step to make Australia's fastest mobile network even faster for Telstra customers.

EE, part of the BT Group, is turning 3G signal into 4G on more than 500 mobile towers in the next six months to enable the maximum performance on the top smartphones being released in 2018, as more customers demand high speed mobile data connections.

Denmark is today rounding a technological milestone. For the first time, Danish mobile customers now have access to an internet speed that has rounded the magic limit of 1,000 Mbit / s. Initially, Telia has opened for 1,000 Mbit / s in Copenhagen. But more cities are on their way. However, it is still only a small handful of mobile phones that support such high speeds at all.

The Telenor Group has long developed and tested the new mobile technologies that will lift the 4G network into the next generation of 5G networks.

TPG Telecom Limited (“TPG”) and Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Ltd (“VHA”) are pleased to announce that the companies have entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed (“SID”) under which the companies have agreed a proposed merger of equals to establish a fully integrated telecommunications operator in Australia (“Merger”).

Telstra today announced it had switched on 5G technology in Toowoomba, making it the first regional community in Australia and one of the first places in the world to be 5G ready.