At Telstra’s 5G Innovation Centre on the Gold Coast, we have successfully completed a world first end-to-end 5G non-standalone data call on a commercial mobile network working in collaboration with Ericsson and Intel.
This is another important step in taking 5G out of the lab and into a real-world production mobile network environment, consistent with our commitment to lead on 5G as part of our Telstra2022 strategy.
The call brought together the core components required for a real commercial 5G network call, including Telstra’s network, a Telstra SIM and Telstra licensed 3.5GHz commercial spectrum, as well as Ericsson’s commercial 5G NR radio 6488, baseband and packet core for 5G EPC and the Intel® 5G Mobile Trial Platform for the 5G NR UE.
What this means in practical terms is this 5G call is the closest any provider has come to making a true real-world commercial 5G call and marks another 5G first for Telstra.
Achieving our first commercial 5G data call with these key technology partners demonstrates the progress we are making in building 5G readiness in Telstra’s mobile network. In the coming weeks and months we will be accelerating our efforts to continue to lead the market on 5G.
We will continue to work with our global technology partners to conduct 5G tests in real-world environments so we can advance the deployment of 5G as soon as the standards, new spectrum and 5G capable devices are ready. With all of these building blocks in place we will then roll-out commercial 5G capability nationally to capital cities, regional centres and other high demand areas.
We have a long history of world and Australian firsts in mobile technology and we will be at the forefront of the technology once again, just as we did on 4G, 3G and 2G.
Andy Penn became the CEO and Managing Director of Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, on 1 May 2015. At Telstra, Andy is leading an ambitious change program transforming the business to be positioned to compete in the radically changing technology world of the future with 5G at its core. Andy has had an extensive career spanning 40 years across 3 different industries - telecommunications, financial services and shipping. He joined Telstra in 2012 as Chief Financial Officer. In 2014 he took on the additional responsibilities as Group Executive International.
Prior to Telstra, Andy spent 23 years with the AXA Group, one of the world’s largest insurance and investment groups. His time at AXA included the roles of Chief Executive Officer 2006-2011 AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Asia and Chief Executive Australia and New Zealand. At AXA, Andy was instrumental in building one of the most successful Asian businesses by an Australian company that was sold to its parent in 2011 for more than A$10bn.
Other directorships & appointments: Member of the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria; Board Director of the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA); Chairman of the Australian Government’s Cyber Industry Advisory Panel, created to guide development of Australia’s 2020 Cyber Security Strategy; Patron, on behalf of Telstra, of the National and Torres Straights Islanders Arts Awards (NATSIAA); Life Governor of Very Special Kids and an Ambassador for the Amy Gillett Foundation. He serves on the advisory boards of both The Big Issue Home for Homes and JDRF.
Recognition and qualifications: MBA (Kingston), AMP (Harvard), FCCA, HFAIPM. Andy has a national diploma in business studies (with distinction), is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, holds an MBA from Kingston University and is a graduate of Harvard’s Advanced Management Program. In 2008 Andy was recognised as Insurance Executive of the year in the Australian Banking and Finance Awards and in 2016 he was made an honorary fellow of the Australian Institute of Project Management. In 2018 Andy was named by the Financial Times among the top 10 male leaders globally HERoes list supporting women in business. In 2019 he was named by the Australian Financial Review as among the top 10 most powerful people in business.
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