City of Parramatta Gets Australia’s First 5G Network

By: Zain Nabi  |   July 10th, 2013   |   News

City of Parramatta, located in the western region of Sydney, New South Wales, claims to be the first to get 5G fixed wireless network, providing services to users at a speed never attained before in Australia.

 

According to the reports in the local media, W3 Networks, a 4^th generation fixed wireless technology service provider, is hosting the new network that can be accessed by people in the city free for 30 minutes in a day. 5G provides speeds of up to 100 megabits per second which is three times faster than the current 4G technology.

 

According to ARN, Parramatta lord mayor John Chedid launched the network with hopes of making the city one of the country’s leading smart cities. He was accompanied by members of the ParaConnect Advisory Committee that is a Parramatta City Council advisory body acting as a bridge between private and public entities to ensure new digital initiatives in Sydney. Chedid shed light of 5G and said about the coverage area:

 

“The new service will allow people to check their emails, read the news or surf the net around the clock in the heart of the city’s CBD – along Church Street, from Riverside Theatres to Westfield and parts of Macquarie Street.”

 

He added:

 

“As Parramatta becomes a major knowledge centre in Sydney and society becomes increasingly mobile, it’s critical that we provide the city with the infrastructure that workers, students, businesses and residents need to stay connected.”

 

ParraConnect is working on the city’s digital and wireless strategy and setting up this new network is part of that initiative. According to TechWorld, Councillor and ParraConnect committee member said during the launch of the network:

 

“This is an event that the New South Wales government said couldn’t happen three years ago. Three years ago they spent a million dollars doing a feasibility study that said we couldn’t do what we’re launching today. So it’s thanks to the capacity of the ParraConnect committee which is made up of a combination of community and business people who have come together to work on this.”

 

Meanwhile, W3 Networks owner Dustin Wilson has said that his company has built this network as part of community service. He had offered to put in the infrastructure for free. At present, 5G is still a fixed network but Wilson is of the view that soon this trend would change. He said:

 

“We don’t currently at this time have the ability to from one access point to another without disconnecting and reconnecting. So it’s a fixed Wi-Fi, it’s not a mobile technology. The mobile element of 5G is coming and that’s software driven and it will happen.”

 

Photo: Apple