Telstra is feeling elated in its triumph over the successful negotiation for early access to the 26GHz spectrum as a result of winning in the recently-concluded mmWave auction. The company switched on their sites in Sydney last night. Nikos Katinakis, Telstra group executive networks & IT, expresses his excitement saying, “We’re thrilled to receive early access to our mmWave spectrum. It means we can accelerate our planning and delivery as we look to roll out this exciting, new technology.”

This positive news is announced just two weeks after the Australian Media and Communications Authority made known the auction results. The company dished out almost $276.58m in the auction, catching up an overwhelming 1GHz of spectrum in all of the 27 regions on offer. The spectrum license is to take effect 12 weeks after ACMA’s publication of the auction results or the day the license was issued whichever came later.

Restrictions to the competition that were enforced on the auction signified that 1GHz was the highest amount of spectrum one particular bidder could secure. “mmWave will bring with it additional capacity for our network and an opportunity to offer next-level connectivity for our customers,” Katinakis explains.

According to Katinakis, this is the kind of capacity that can enhance customer experience specifically in high traffic places such as train stations, concerts and retail centres and as well, embolden a treasure -trove of new mobile experiences from augmented reality to driverless cars. Katinakis goes on to say, “Just like in 2018 when we were the first to begin rolling out 5G in Australia, Telstra has also been leading the way with mmWave technology.”

The scientific licenses granted by ACMA gave Telstra the opportunity to trial 26GHz in the city and regional areas for the past 12 months together with its network partner Ericsson. The Telstra Executive continues to explain, “In the lab, we have been using mmWave to push our network to the next level and now we are in a position to officially bring our newly acquired mmWave to our live network. Our recent investment at the mmWave spectrum is yet another example of our desire to make 5G, and all that 5G brings, available to as many Australians as possible.” He states, “Telstra will have more to say on our exciting mmWave roll out soon.”

Telstra claims to be the first carrier to introduce a commercial mmWave-capable gadget to the Aussie market, launching the Telstra 5G Wi-Fi Pro starting May 2020. Four more 26GHz area-wide licences were acquired by the telco, two of them given just earlier this month.

In the meantime, Optus is conducting its mmWave testing using its area-wide licences. An Optus insider has this to say, “Optus has been out in front on 5G from the start and we are already actively testing mmWave thanks to the mmWave AWL licences that we were awarded last year. We are currently assessing our plans for mmWave and will announce these once ready to do so.”