Mobile Communications

Australia’s 3G network is being shutdown after 20 years, making way for 4G and 5G technology

For literally decades, I have been relying on the annual statistical reports on the global telecommunications market published by telecommunications giant Ericsson. The reports from the 1980s and 1990s primarily focused on telephone statistics, and over time, they expanded to include broadband and mobile data. However, due to the privatisation of telecommunication services, not all

ACMA recently published a paper titled: Terahertz use-cases and regulatory models information paper. The terahertz spectrum refers to frequencies in the range 100-400GHz, but the more practical range will be between 100-275GHz. This part of the electromagnetic spectrum lies between the microwave and infrared regions and has unique properties that make it attractive for various

While nearly two in three Australians are now only using their mobile to make telephone calls, close to a third don’t have a landline at all anymore. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) recently produced an extensive report on mobile use in Australia. While just over 70% of people still have a landline, the

The reason why I am asking about our mobile market competitiveness is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently argued that because the courts allowed the merger between Vodafone and TPG, the market has become less competitive. The ACCC had argued against the merger but lost that case. It is not easy to give

We have covered several articles about the potential of 5G being a competitor to the NBN. I have always downplayed this but have also indicated that there certainly are new niche market opportunities of 5G. However, these will be incremental, and its main development is simply replacing 4G, as it offers significant network efficiencies for

As I mentioned in a previous article, I chaired three masterclasses on 5G. It is always great to listen to experts who I trust as they provide important input in the knowledge I need to obtain for that higher level of insight I need to put a range of technical and business issues together in

The Vodafone-TPG merger dilemma, what to make of the ACCC decision not to allow the merger between Vodafone and TPG?

What is the business case for 5G? There is a lot of hype around 5G but none of it is new. We saw the same propaganda – fuelled by the manufacturers – in the run-up to the launch of the 3G and 4G versions of the mobile technology. Driverless cars and a range of other

The 5G auction brought in $853 million in the government’s coffers, while this is a lot of money the total amount of the spectrum sale is lower because of limited competition, partly because of the restrictions there were put on Optus and the nbn company regarding the amount of spectrum they can have in metropolitan

Despite the big PR splash from Telstra in relation to its 5G announcement, there was not much news beyond phones that look very similar to 4G phones and (video) services that can also be provided over 4G. I remain convinced that 5G is not going to provide any new revenues for Telstra and for Optus

For more than a decade I have followed the trials and tribulations of New Zealand’s third mobile operator, 2Degrees. This story started at a time when regulation in New Zealand (or more to the point, the lack of it) very much favoured the incumbent operator, at that stage called Telecom New Zealand. From the very

The global mobile market has become far more competitive in most markets around the world due to liberalisation, the rise of Over-The-Top (OTT) providers and, in some cases, the introduction of MVNOs. In addition, as operators go hunting for new revenue streams, there has been much regional and international expansion occurring – along with consolidation.

In 2017 the global mobile market has its sights firmly set on the opportunities offered through mobile data as well as looking for potential new revenues streams presented by the enterprise sector, data mining, 5G and international expansion. Mobile saturation has occurred in many of the developed markets and this has forced some of the

The Australian mobile market is dominated by the three major mobile network operators Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone (VHA), though there are numerous MVNOs which have a significant market share. MVNOs have been able to offer LTE services on a wholesale basis since early 2016, thus encouraging growth in the LTE sector and cementing the role

Since the ACCC indicated that it is again opening up its investigation into mobile roaming there has been a great deal of noise from the various telco players regarding the pros and cons of mobile roaming. However very little attention has been given to the more subtle underlying issues. While most the operators involved in

The three LTE networks operated by Optus, Telstra and Vodafone have been developed rapidly during the past two years. These MNOs are striving to provide an infrastructure capable of meetings customer demand for mobile broadband services, and are also preparing for the possibilities anticipated through the deployment of 5G within the next few years. Telstra