Telstra lands big brands for 5G

Telstra lands big brands for 5G


Telstra chief executive Andy Penn. Picture: David Geraghty.

• DAVID SWAN
  REPORTER
  @swan_legend
  
• 5:24PM JANUARY 10, 2019
• 17 COMMENTS

Telstra has landed exclusive partnerships for its 5G network, announcing in Las Vegas that some of the world’s biggest brands will offer their 5G-compatible devices solely with the telco later this year.
Speaking to The Australian at CES, the world’s biggest consumer technology show, Telstra CEO Andy Penn said the telco used its close, longstanding relationships with device manufacturers to land the deals.
“I can’t comment on who they are and precisely the timing, but candidly that has more to do with the commercial sensitivities between the various providers who are understandably wanting to bring their products and services to market first,” he said. “These devices will be available exclusively initially on the Telstra network.
“We offer a great opportunity for them to offer their flagship 5G devices on the best network in Australia. We’re at the forefront of 5G internationally so I think it’s quite an attractive proposition there.”
He said Telstra had 207 5G mobile base stations already on line Australia-wide and that, while 2018 was about 5G becoming network-ready, the telco was now “absolutely network-ready”.
Telstra has invested heavily in 5G spectrum and network technology. The new generation is expected to deliver speeds far superior to those of 4G, as well as lower latency for applications such as agriculture connectivity and competitive gaming.
“There is still quite a bit of work to happen in that not all device manufacturers are going to have 5G devices ready in 2019 ... a couple of the big ones won’t,” Mr Penn said, in reference to at least Apple, which has confirmed its first 5G iPhone will not be ready this year.
“The take-up of 5G is going to be somewhat influenced by that. But I expect, by the end of 2020, for every leading device manufacturer to have flagship devices available.”
According to Mr Penn, while Telstra is yet to confirm its 5G pricing for customers, it didn’t price 4G any differently than 3G when that technology launched.
“I made a comment before Christmas that customers would be willing to pay more for 5G, and that’s not me saying we will differently price 5G,” he said.
“It’s more that what we tend to find with the first half of a generation of a new technology is industry revenues tend to grow faster than in the second half of a technology revolution.
“Customers are keen to take advantage of the technology and are willing to pay more, and on the flipside the operator has spent an enormous amount of money on spectrum, capex and new devices and so it does tend to lead to an increase in prices. But that’s not the same as me saying if you want 4G or 5G, you’ll pay a different price for that connectivity.”
Telstra endured a rough 2018, slashing its dividend and axing about a quarter of its staff.
Its CEO said, however, that morale was good within the telco, and that 2018 had finished on an upbeat note.
“We’ve finished up the year in a good place,” Mr Penn said. “The team is largely now in place, and we felt pretty positive at the end of the year. We’ve got our results coming up and I feel pretty happy with our performance in the market, in terms of our share and new customers.
“In 2019 we will really start to demonstrate the value of the investments into our network, we are streets ahead of everyone else and our network is performing well.”
David Swan travelled to Las Vegas as a guest of Intel.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/bu...ign=editorial&utm_content=TodaySHeadlines