Telstra of Australia has published its financial results for the first half that ended December 31, 2022. The telco said it had seen strong and continued growth with positive momentum across key indicators. In addition, the telco said it aligns with its T25 strategy which it unveiled in September of 2021. The telco has also shared metrics on its 5G Network coverage and plans. Let's now look at the details in this story.
Australia's Strongest 5G Network
Telstra's 5G network has reached over 81% of the country's population as of the end of last year, Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said in a conference call with investors. Telstra reported 33.6% traffic on its 5G Network. At the end of 2021, Telstra's 5G network reached 77.5% of the Australian population. For FY23, the operator targets 85% of coverage with the 5G Network.
Also Read: Telstra Smart Modem 3 Comes Bundled With NBN Plans for New Customers
Telstra CEO, Vicki Brady, said: "On network leadership, we are on track to meet our T25 commitments. We have the largest 5G network, our 5G population coverage reaches over 81 percent and is on track for our FY23 target of 85 percent. We are currently leading in the majority of key mobile and fixed network surveys for both coverage and speed."
T25 Strategy
"T25 Strategy is about growing sustainably by doing the right thing by our customers, our people, our shareholders, and by Australia," says Telstra. T25 has four pillars: exceptional customer experience, leading network and technology solutions, sustained growth and value and being the place you want to work.
5G Network Coverage Targets
Telstra wants to achieve around 95% of population coverage for 5G and over 80% of data traffic on the 5G Network by FY25. With only 323 3G sites remaining to be upgraded, Telstra also planned to close 3G Network in FY24. The Australian telco has reported that metro mobile cell sites are up 1.08x to 5,536 sites from 5,133 in FY21. As part of its T25 strategy, the telco aims to double metro cell sites by FY25 to densify the Network and expand regional coverage.
Also Read: Telstra Announces First 5G Data Call Using Ericsson Cloud RAN Technology
First 5G data call on a commercial network
Telstra and Ericsson announced the first Ericsson Cloud RAN 5G data call on Telstra's commercial Network in December 2022. It is the first time Ericsson's Cloud RAN Radio Access Network (RAN) virtualization technology has been trialled in a commercial network in the southern hemisphere.
Telstra, Ericsson and Qualcomm claim new Record 5G download speeds
In December 2022, the technology partners announced a new 5G download peak speed benchmark of 7.3 Gbps achieved on Telstra's live commercial Network. The new global downlink speed benchmark for a single user was achieved at a Telstra live mobile site located at the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
26 GHz and 3.6 GHz Spectrum Dual Carrier Results
The mobile device is connected to a live commercial Telstra mobile site equipped with an Ericsson Radio System base-station supporting New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) between 800 MHz of n258 (26 GHz) mmWave spectrum and 100 MHz of mid-band n78 (3.6GHz) Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum.
The 256 QAM modulation was used on the mmWave carriers, which boosts the peak speed to 7.3 Gbps, surpassing Telstra's previous 5G downlink benchmark of 5.9 Gbps (peak modulation of 64QAM on mmWave) set in February 2022.
