Queanbeyan is the first city in the Eden-Monaro area - and one of the first 53 cities in Australia - to be more than 50 per cent covered by 5G, the fifth-generation mobile network that is up to 50 times faster than previous broadband connections.
Telstra began rolling out the area's first 5G base stations six months ago, the company's regional manager Chris Taylor said; 70 per cent of the city's population now has access to the high-speed network, which covers Queanbeyan urban areas and Googong.
Coverage will extend to the rest of the region, Mr Taylor said. The company aims to have 75 per cent of the population across Australia covered by the end of the financial year.
What is 5G?
The superfast and interconnected 5G mobile network succeeds mobile phone calls (1G), text and picture messaging (2G), mobile data and smartphones (3G), and video calls, moving video, and streaming (4G).
Telstra CEO Andrew Penn predicted last month that no technology would do more to shape the 2020s than 5G. It was, he said, a massive leap forward in speed, data capacity and device density that would revolutionise connectivity in Australia.
5G is expected to lead to smart cities and driverless cars; virtual or enhanced reality to attend meetings, classes, concerts and sports matches; wearable medtech that can identify health issues early; and delivery fleets of drones.
One immediate benefit, Mr Taylor said, is the speed: typically 5G can be as fast as 500 megabits per second, 50 to 5 times more than the 10 to 100 megabits per second provided by 4G.
5G also increases the capacity of the network; it can handle more traffic and reduce latency (computer time lag) than 4G, while reducing the load on the existing 4G network.
The faster internet connection will make it easier for people to work or study from home during COVID-19 restrictions, Mr Taylor said.
In the future, remote health and surgical procedures, precision manufacturing, and online gaming will be enhanced through 5G.
5G and Queanbeyan
The uptake in Queanbeyan has been steady so far, Mr Taylor said, but he expected it to accelerate once more 5G-capable devices become available.
Three electronics companies will announce new handsets later this year which Mr Taylor hopes will be 5G-capable. A 5G Samsung handset and a wireless broadband router are already on the market.
5G assists Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council's desire to make Queanbeyan a smart CBD, with multi-storey car parks with electric vehicle charging points, smart street lighting, CCTV and wi-fi.
"5G will only enhance the ability to employ a more up-to-date technology to support this," Mr Taylor said.
Is 5G safe?
Conspiracy theories - apparently Russian and Chinese government disinformation - claim that 5G is dangerous, causes cancer or symptoms similar to coronavirus, and can control your mind, and that the COVID-19 lockdown was engineered to roll out the network without opposition.
Mr Taylor said he had not seen these concerns raised in the capital region.
He reassured the public:
"The 5G network is built on global standards, and it's the most secure network that you will see under those global standards."
Telstra was at the forefront of cybersecurity, Mr Taylor said; it worked closely with the government to formulate policy and action plans.
Another worry was that 5G could spread dangerous radiation; because 5G millimetre waves do not travel as far as 4G, the network requires more antennae closer together.
"In terms of electromagnetic emissions and safety concerns, we operate well within the standards set by the World Health Organization, and our electromagnetic energy emissions are quite often up to a thousand times below the recommended emissions," Mr Taylor said.
More information
There are now more than 1500 Telstra 5G sites on-air across selected areas of 53 Australian cities and towns. More than 1000 suburbs nationally are more than half covered by Telstra 5G, and more than 10 million people live, work or pass through Telstra's 5G footprint every day.
To find out more about the 5G coverage rollout and handsets and devices, visit telstra.com.au/5g or a Telstra store.
Nicholas Fuller
The exciting thing about journalism is the variety; one can explore the world, meet interesting people and write about it. I've sat in the caravan of an African circus ringmaster; I've squatted on my haunches in a plastic-sorting factory in the Mumbai slums, talking to the workers and drinking hot chai in plastic cups the size of thimbles; and I've interviewed Chinese cultural attachés, Danish football stars and Japanese drummers. Now I’ve come to the Northern Tablelands as a group journalist working across six of Fairfax’s mastheads. Living in New England is a return to country. My father’s side of the family lived here since the 19th century. My great-great-grandparents are buried in Ben Lomond. My great-grandmother and grandmother spent most of their lives in and around Glencoe and Glen Innes, and are both buried in Tamworth. My grandfather isn’t; his ashes are in a cupboard until we throw them in the Macdonald, near Bendemeer, where he used to fish. And my father cut his teeth as a cadet journalist on the Northern Daily Leader, before moving to Canberra, and studied history at UNE. Moving here is following in the family footsteps. Armidale seems charming: up here, in Australia’s highest city, one feels close to the sky. And the mixture of 1830s historic buildings; green, rain-washed hills, crowned with conifers; and one of the country’s leading universities give it a unique appeal. I completed my journalism qualifications last year, while freelancing for newspapers and magazines, and holding down a full-time job. I spent the end of last year in Sri Lanka, where I reported on visiting Buddhist dignitaries (from exotic Perth), UN development programs, Italian food weeks, and hotels in former war-zones. Previously, I worked as a writer and editor for the Australian Government in Canberra for a decade. In my day job, I briefed members of parliament about international relations, and wrote about agricultural aid programs to developing countries. Journalism, though, is where my heart lies. I want to experience life, rather than sit behind a desk. And, having grown up in Belgium, I want to be Tintin. I hope to get to know and love the region where my ancestors lived, while reporting on issues important to the Tablelands.
The exciting thing about journalism is the variety; one can explore the world, meet interesting people and write about it. I've sat in the caravan of an African circus ringmaster; I've squatted on my haunches in a plastic-sorting factory in the Mumbai slums, talking to the workers and drinking hot chai in plastic cups the size of thimbles; and I've interviewed Chinese cultural attachés, Danish football stars and Japanese drummers. Now I’ve come to the Northern Tablelands as a group journalist working across six of Fairfax’s mastheads. Living in New England is a return to country. My father’s side of the family lived here since the 19th century. My great-great-grandparents are buried in Ben Lomond. My great-grandmother and grandmother spent most of their lives in and around Glencoe and Glen Innes, and are both buried in Tamworth. My grandfather isn’t; his ashes are in a cupboard until we throw them in the Macdonald, near Bendemeer, where he used to fish. And my father cut his teeth as a cadet journalist on the Northern Daily Leader, before moving to Canberra, and studied history at UNE. Moving here is following in the family footsteps. Armidale seems charming: up here, in Australia’s highest city, one feels close to the sky. And the mixture of 1830s historic buildings; green, rain-washed hills, crowned with conifers; and one of the country’s leading universities give it a unique appeal. I completed my journalism qualifications last year, while freelancing for newspapers and magazines, and holding down a full-time job. I spent the end of last year in Sri Lanka, where I reported on visiting Buddhist dignitaries (from exotic Perth), UN development programs, Italian food weeks, and hotels in former war-zones. Previously, I worked as a writer and editor for the Australian Government in Canberra for a decade. In my day job, I briefed members of parliament about international relations, and wrote about agricultural aid programs to developing countries. Journalism, though, is where my heart lies. I want to experience life, rather than sit behind a desk. And, having grown up in Belgium, I want to be Tintin. I hope to get to know and love the region where my ancestors lived, while reporting on issues important to the Tablelands.
