Part of the spectrum used for regional NBN connections could conflict with international 5G standards, according to Vodafone CEO Iñaki Berroeta.
Speaking at the CommsDay Summit in Sydney, Berroeta said that NBN’s majority share of the 3.5GHz band used for its fixed wireless network overlaps with the spectrum bands currently in discussion globally for standardised 5G use.
“It has only become clear in the last year that the spectrum bands which are by far the biggest opportunity for internationally aligned 5G services are the 3.4 to 3.7 GHz bands,” Berroeta said according to news.com.au.
“What I am advocating is simply a discussion to identify the options. The current owners of that spectrum must be able to deliver its services, and at the same time the right spectrum has to be made available to industry to benefit from the economies of scale on international standards,” said Berroeta.
Vodafone, Optus and Telstra are all pushing ahead with plans for 5G, with Telstra claiming it plans to have a 5G service in place for the Commonwealth Games next year.
NBN told news.com.au that thousands of services already use the 3.5GHz band, and that it is an “extremely critical asset” in its plan to deliver “high quality broadband to all Australians by 2020”.
