5G—Enabling the future economy

[Technology]
The Australian Government has released its strategy to support the timely rollout of 5G in Australia.

12 October 2017
5G is the next step in the evolution of mobile wireless communications technology, promising improved connectivity, greater network speeds and bandwidth, and very low latency. The Government considers that 5G is more than an incremental change for mobile communications. Rather, it will enable the next wave of productivity and innovation across different sectors of the Australian economy.

We want to create an environment that allows Australia’s telecommunications industry to be at the forefront of seizing the benefits of 5G across the economy. To that end, we have released the paper, 5G—Enabling the future economy.

This paper outlines the immediate actions for Government to take that will support the timely rollout of 5G in Australia. These include:

making spectrum available in a timely manner
actively engaging in the international standardisation process
streamlining arrangements to allow mobile carriers to deploy infrastructure more quickly, and
reviewing existing telecommunications regulatory arrangements to ensure they are fit-for-purpose.
The Government will also convene a working group to bring together representatives from across Government and industry. This working group will foster an ongoing dialogue on 5G issues. Further information on the working group will be made available on the department’s website shortly.