Many Australians are now anticipating fast internet access at home when the NBN arrives in their neighbourhood. But what about mobile networks?

The next generation of mobile broadband is reportedly heading into incredible speeds, far faster than anything come down wires, with Telstra announcing today that it has tested “one of the world’s first” 5G radio test beds in Melbourne, in conjunction with Ericsson.

“During the outdoor trial we saw total download speeds (to two mobiles) of greater than 20Gbps, so there’s no doubt 5G is going to be a lot faster than today’s mobile networks,” said Telstra networks group managing director Mike Wright.

As a comparison, that is 200 times faster than the maximum speed of the NBN. However, practical speeds once many thousands of devices start using the network is anyone’s guess.

Telstra didn’t want to take a stab. A spokesperson for the company told Business Insider: “When shared between many users we’d expect speeds will be lower than the peak speeds.”

The current 4G LTE standard has an on-paper max speed of 300Mbps, which is still 3 times faster than the NBN, but you would struggle to find any Australian getting anywhere near that sort of web browsing.

Wright said the extra capacity on 5G would be needed as more and more machines join the mobile network — internet of things, such as refrigerators and kettles that are connected online.

The carrier has previously stated it aims to conduct full trials of 5G at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Actual deployment of 5G networks is not expected to occur until 2020.

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/telstra-just-tested-a-5g-mobile-network-100-times-faster-than-nbn-theoretically-2016-9

Who are you to say whether I’m kettle or not?

The Rev Dodgson said:

Who are you to say whether I’m kettle or not?

F’k and I thought about it too.

I imagine though that we will pay a premium and it won’t match home data allowance even if its faster.
Also I wonder if it fairly compared the NBN and it’s maximum speed with only a few users instead of throttled speeds and tens of thousands of users

Telstra didn’t want to take a stab. A spokesperson for the company told Business Insider: “When shared between many users we’d expect speeds will be lower than the peak speeds.”

Fucking genius right there ladies and gentlemen

Cymek said:

I imagine though that we will pay a premium and it won’t match home data allowance even if its faster.
Also I wonder if it fairly compared the NBN and it’s maximum speed with only a few users instead of throttled speeds and tens of thousands of users

this. also wireless will never be able to match the speed of fibre because…physics.

ChrispenEvan said:

Cymek said:

I imagine though that we will pay a premium and it won’t match home data allowance even if its faster.
Also I wonder if it fairly compared the NBN and it’s maximum speed with only a few users instead of throttled speeds and tens of thousands of users

this. also wireless will never be able to match the speed of fibre because…physics.

I was reading this just the other day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_fiber_cable

In September 2012, NTT Japan demonstrated a single fiber cable that was able to transfer 1 petabit per second (1015bits/s) over a distance of 50 kilometers

Cymek said:

ChrispenEvan said:

Cymek said:

I imagine though that we will pay a premium and it won’t match home data allowance even if its faster.
Also I wonder if it fairly compared the NBN and it’s maximum speed with only a few users instead of throttled speeds and tens of thousands of users

this. also wireless will never be able to match the speed of fibre because…physics.

I was reading this just the other day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_fiber_cable

In September 2012, NTT Japan demonstrated a single fiber cable that was able to transfer 1 petabit per second (1015bits/s) over a distance of 50 kilometers

Gee, and back in the 60s we thought we were clever being able to transmit 40 phone conversations over one pair of wires.

>Gee, and back in the 60s we thought we were clever being able to transmit 40 phone conversations over one pair of wires

I still think that’s clever

And apart from the kettle question, Optus tell me they are dumping 2G, and as a result my single band 3G phone “may” not work any more.

I suspect they just want to sell me a new mega-bucks phone, but does anyone here know about this stuff?

The Rev Dodgson said:

And apart from the kettle question, Optus tell me they are dumping 2G, and as a result my single band 3G phone “may” not work any more.

I suspect they just want to sell me a new mega-bucks phone, but does anyone here know about this stuff?

I have a telsra prepaid mobile. It was a 2g device. telstra sent me a new phone for free. it is nothing special but it suits my usage.

The Rev Dodgson said:

And apart from the kettle question, Optus tell me they are dumping 2G, and as a result my single band 3G phone “may” not work any more.

I suspect they just want to sell me a new mega-bucks phone, but does anyone here know about this stuff?

They should have plenty of cheap phones if you need a replacement. I signed up on a new plan recently and got a phone that is not the latest mega-bucks phone but perfectly adequate for my needs. They charged me a base plan and had a range of phones to select from, mine was one of the “free” options with the base plan. For an existing customer they should have something decent to offer to keep your business.

I bought my phone (about $200 IIRC) and pay Optus $10 every 3 months, or until my allowance runs out. I don’t make many outward calls from the mobile, so usually the $10 lasts most of the 3 months.

I suppose I can buy another $200 phone in April if I have to, but it is 3G, so I’ll probably just see how it goes.

The Rev Dodgson said:

I bought my phone (about $200 IIRC) and pay Optus $10 every 3 months, or until my allowance runs out. I don’t make many outward calls from the mobile, so usually the $10 lasts most of the 3 months.

I suppose I can buy another $200 phone in April if I have to, but it is 3G, so I’ll probably just see how it goes.

Richer than weather girls. My last phone cost forty bucks and came with fifty bucks of free calls as a stand alone.

This year I am going to look at getting rid of the landline and going all digital.

AwesomeO said:

My last phone cost forty bucks and came with fifty bucks of free calls as a stand alone.

OK, that sounds like a reasonable deal.

Or do you mean $40/month?

The Rev Dodgson said:

AwesomeO said:

My last phone cost forty bucks and came with fifty bucks of free calls as a stand alone.

OK, that sounds like a reasonable deal.

Or do you mean $40/month?

That’s what I mean by stand alone, brought the phone outright, it came with fifty bucks of free calls, I buy credits as needed, it is not on a plan.

There is a number you can put into your phone and it tells you if it is 3 G ready.

AwesomeO said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

I bought my phone (about $200 IIRC) and pay Optus $10 every 3 months, or until my allowance runs out. I don’t make many outward calls from the mobile, so usually the $10 lasts most of the 3 months.

I suppose I can buy another $200 phone in April if I have to, but it is 3G, so I’ll probably just see how it goes.

Richer than weather girls. My last phone cost forty bucks and came with fifty bucks of free calls as a stand alone.

This year I am going to look at getting rid of the landline and going all digital.

got rid of my landline a few years ago. save heaps on line rental. i put $60 onto my mobile prepaid over 180 days ago, that is how far back telstra will record. still have $30 and 30mins telstra free call. i blame it on having no friends to call.

AwesomeO said:

This year I am going to look at getting rid of the landline and going all digital.

This is why I signed up for the new mobile. Not going to bother with a land line at the new house.

ChrispenEvan said:

AwesomeO said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

I bought my phone (about $200 IIRC) and pay Optus $10 every 3 months, or until my allowance runs out. I don’t make many outward calls from the mobile, so usually the $10 lasts most of the 3 months.

I suppose I can buy another $200 phone in April if I have to, but it is 3G, so I’ll probably just see how it goes.

Richer than weather girls. My last phone cost forty bucks and came with fifty bucks of free calls as a stand alone.

This year I am going to look at getting rid of the landline and going all digital.

got rid of my landline a few years ago. save heaps on line rental. i put $60 onto my mobile prepaid over 180 days ago, that is how far back telstra will record. still have $30 and 30mins telstra free call. i blame it on having no friends to call.

I called you about 6 months or so ago. Some on the forum were worried about you. I was just trying to make sure. Probably cost you nothing.

sibeen said:

ChrispenEvan said:

AwesomeO said:

Richer than weather girls. My last phone cost forty bucks and came with fifty bucks of free calls as a stand alone.

This year I am going to look at getting rid of the landline and going all digital.

got rid of my landline a few years ago. save heaps on line rental. i put $60 onto my mobile prepaid over 180 days ago, that is how far back telstra will record. still have $30 and 30mins telstra free call. i blame it on having no friends to call.

I called you about 6 months or so ago. Some on the forum were worried about you. I was just trying to make sure. Probably cost you nothing.

only to my pride in admitting the caring bit.

:-)

party_pants said:

AwesomeO said:

This year I am going to look at getting rid of the landline and going all digital.

This is why I signed up for the new mobile. Not going to bother with a land line at the new house.

Went without a landline for a trial period went back to having both.

monkey skipper said:

party_pants said:

AwesomeO said:

This year I am going to look at getting rid of the landline and going all digital.

This is why I signed up for the new mobile. Not going to bother with a land line at the new house.

Went without a landline for a trial period went back to having both.

May I ask why?

generally we do with $30/month on lady’s phone, which gives her 200 texts, 200minutes free talk time, and 200meg data, of which she can send any amount/portion of that ($10/day max, x 3) to my mobile, and/or to the internet wireless stick. It doesn’t effect her 200 min free talk time, or 200 free texts, or 200meg data for her phone.

she always recharges before the expiry date to roll over any money, sometimes a little extra for my poetry, but when recharging the free talk time etc doesn’t roll over.

>5G and You’re Kettle

Sounds rather threatening, like “move and you’re dead”.

monkey skipper said:

party_pants said:

AwesomeO said:

This year I am going to look at getting rid of the landline and going all digital.

This is why I signed up for the new mobile. Not going to bother with a land line at the new house.

Went without a landline for a trial period went back to having both.

I’m thinking when I move, I won’t bother with the internet, at least for a while. Hopefully there’ll be a public internet nearby where I can do my banking etc.

AwesomeO said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

AwesomeO said:

My last phone cost forty bucks and came with fifty bucks of free calls as a stand alone.

OK, that sounds like a reasonable deal.

Or do you mean $40/month?

That’s what I mean by stand alone, brought the phone outright, it came with fifty bucks of free calls, I buy credits as needed, it is not on a plan.

There is a number you can put into your phone and it tells you if it is 3 G ready.

$40 for a phone with $50 free calls does seem very cheap. I wonder where they make their money.

I know my phone is 3G, but you can get 3G single band and 3G dual band. The single band ones use the 2G network in some areas, and so won’t work in these areas after April, but I can’t find any information about where these areas are.

The Rev Dodgson said:

AwesomeO said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

OK, that sounds like a reasonable deal.

Or do you mean $40/month?

That’s what I mean by stand alone, brought the phone outright, it came with fifty bucks of free calls, I buy credits as needed, it is not on a plan.

There is a number you can put into your phone and it tells you if it is 3 G ready.

$40 for a phone with $50 free calls does seem very cheap. I wonder where they make their money.

I know my phone is 3G, but you can get 3G single band and 3G dual band. The single band ones use the 2G network in some areas, and so won’t work in these areas after April, but I can’t find any information about where these areas are.

just buy a new phone. sheesh. surely $50 ain’t going to break you.

Bubblecar said:

Hopefully there’ll be a public internet nearby where I can do my banking etc.

Huuuuuuuuge security risks, doing banking on public internets.

Divine Angel said:

Bubblecar said:

Hopefully there’ll be a public internet nearby where I can do my banking etc.

Huuuuuuuuge security risks, doing banking on public internets.

Agreed.. email me your bank details, and I will do it for you, from a secure computer.

Dropbear said:

Divine Angel said:

Bubblecar said:

Hopefully there’ll be a public internet nearby where I can do my banking etc.

Huuuuuuuuge security risks, doing banking on public internets.

Agreed.. email me your bank details, and I will do it for you, from a secure computer.

Email’s waaaay insecure. Post your details here, and Droppy can do it from a secure computer.

btm said:

Dropbear said:

Divine Angel said:

Huuuuuuuuge security risks, doing banking on public internets.

Agreed.. email me your bank details, and I will do it for you, from a secure computer.

email addy is arthurdaly@shonkymoney.me

Email’s waaaay insecure. Post your details here, and Droppy can do it from a secure computer.

Divine Angel said:

Bubblecar said:

Hopefully there’ll be a public internet nearby where I can do my banking etc.

Huuuuuuuuge security risks, doing banking on public internets.

And yet…I was advised to “go to the library” to do my staff superannuation stuff with Superstream when I asked how I could do it without internet access. This came from the relevent minister, via my local MP…

buffy said:

Divine Angel said:

Bubblecar said:

Hopefully there’ll be a public internet nearby where I can do my banking etc.

Huuuuuuuuge security risks, doing banking on public internets.

… This came from the relevent minister, …

scott (no brains) morrison?

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

Probably if there is no economic reason to replace them. Some countries like Afghanistan have skipped over the landline phase and gone direct to tower and satellite. Many parts of India also.

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

no, because NBN.

Divine Angel said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

My home phone is a landline, don’t have a mobile.

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

That’s a good question. Their maintenance is more expensive (because technicians have to go out to individual nodes, whereas mobile stations can be centralised, and repair and maintenance can involved a minimally-trained person pulling out a board and replacing it, then taking it back to a base station for someone else to repair,) so the owners of the infrastructure (Telstra) pay more for them, but they’re cheaper for the consumer, so getting rid of them will save Telstra much more than it will lose them. Mobile phone contracts cost a lot more than landlines (because the consumer pays for the convenience), which discourages many people from getting them.

So it’s in Telstra’s best interests to get rid of them, but to do that they’d have to drop mobile phone charges, which they’re not willing to do because it’s making them lots of money.

Divine Angel said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

Lots of people here do. Bad weather puts the mobile phone towers out but the landlines keep going.

buffy said:

Divine Angel said:

Bubblecar said:

Hopefully there’ll be a public internet nearby where I can do my banking etc.

Huuuuuuuuge security risks, doing banking on public internets.

And yet…I was advised to “go to the library” to do my staff superannuation stuff with Superstream when I asked how I could do it without internet access. This came from the relevent minister, via my local MP…

minister of religion? you’d need a lot of faith

Tamb said:

Divine Angel said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

Lots of people here do. Bad weather puts the mobile phone towers out but the landlines keep going.

Bring back the Pony Express service I say.

bob(from black rock) said:

Tamb said:

Divine Angel said:

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

Lots of people here do. Bad weather puts the mobile phone towers out but the landlines keep going.

Bring back the Pony Express service I say.

Is Wells Fargo still operating?

Tamb said:

Divine Angel said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

Lots of people here do. Bad weather puts the mobile phone towers out but the landlines keep going.

It is after all why fibre to each user was always the best bet. OK copper always had problems and maybe fibre will suffer from the same but at least it is direct.

bob(from black rock) said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Tamb said:

Lots of people here do. Bad weather puts the mobile phone towers out but the landlines keep going.

Bring back the Pony Express service I say.

Is Wells Fargo still operating?

There is no reason why they couldn’t have been the first to adopt motorised coaches.

bob(from black rock) said:

Tamb said:

Divine Angel said:

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

Lots of people here do. Bad weather puts the mobile phone towers out but the landlines keep going.

Bring back the Pony Express service I say.

The power goes out so the towers switch to battery back up. Stupidly some genius connected the aircon to the system so the batteries go flat quickly then the tower is useless.

roughbarked said:

bob(from black rock) said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Bring back the Pony Express service I say.

Is Wells Fargo still operating?

There is no reason why they couldn’t have been the first to adopt motorised coaches.

What would they have done with all those horses?

bob(from black rock) said:

roughbarked said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Is Wells Fargo still operating?

There is no reason why they couldn’t have been the first to adopt motorised coaches.

What would they have done with all those horses?

motorised coaches utilised glue didn’t they?

Tamb said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Tamb said:

Lots of people here do. Bad weather puts the mobile phone towers out but the landlines keep going.

Bring back the Pony Express service I say.

The power goes out so the towers switch to battery back up. Stupidly some genius connected the aircon to the system so the batteries go flat quickly then the tower is useless.

Probably overheats if no AC?

roughbarked said:

bob(from black rock) said:

roughbarked said:

There is no reason why they couldn’t have been the first to adopt motorised coaches.

What would they have done with all those horses?

motorised coaches utilised glue didn’t they?

Sold them to Maccas.

poikilotherm said:

Tamb said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Bring back the Pony Express service I say.

The power goes out so the towers switch to battery back up. Stupidly some genius connected the aircon to the system so the batteries go flat quickly then the tower is useless.

Probably overheats if no AC?

That’s probably the reason & I suppose there is less damage if the equipment is hot but not working.

Tamb said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Tamb said:

Lots of people here do. Bad weather puts the mobile phone towers out but the landlines keep going.

Bring back the Pony Express service I say.

The power goes out so the towers switch to battery back up. Stupidly some genius connected the aircon to the system so the batteries go flat quickly then the tower is useless.

when the power goes out here, we have 6 hours of mobile coverage then the tower batteries are flat

Divine Angel said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

Mobile phones are totally unreliable here – can’t do without a landline.

grognon said:

Divine Angel said:

bob(from black rock) said:

Will phone land lines ever be phased out?

The only people I know who still use landlines are businesses.

Mobile phones are totally unreliable here – can’t do without a landline.

Same.

Hey grognon :)