Australia has signed an agreement with the governments of the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the UK covering the introduction of 6G mobile data technology.
The existing 5G network spans only a fraction of the continent—though Telstra claims its network is the largest and covers 85 percent of the population.
5G is now available, at least partially, in all capital cities (except Darwin) and in several regional centres in each state. There are no 5G deployments in the Northern Territory at present.
Australians have been quick to adopt the technology. Counterpoint Research reported the country had a 5G smartphone penetration rate of 82 percent in the first quarter of last year, representing around 8.8 million connections, a rise of 40 percent from the previous year.
In contrast, in France, Spain, Germany, and the UK, 5G handset penetration ranged between 20 and 30 percent.
The advanced progress of 5G comes despite internet speeds in Australia being relatively mid-range, at 242.98 Megabits per second (Mps) download in Sydney and 249.99 Mbps in Melbourne, according to Speedtest.net.
Delhi achieved 357.43 Mbps; Shanghai 301.80 Mbps; and Seoul 533.95 Mbps. Kuala Lumpur was rated at 523.44 Mbps, while even those in Wellington, New Zealand enjoyed better median speeds, at 312.40 Mbps.
‘Omnipresent Wireless Intelligence’
While it’s too early to say with any certainty, some experts predict that 6G will have a peak data rate of 1 terabyte per second for data transmitted in short bursts across limited distances.The multi-country agreement acknowledges that 6G is still more of a concept than a reality, committing the signatories to “shared principles for the research and development of 6G wireless communication systems” because “by working together we can support open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, resilient, and secure connectivity.”
Mobile developer Ericsson describes it as having the capacity to create “truly omnipresent wireless intelligence” and says it is “built on the desire to create a seamless reality where the digital and physical worlds as we know them today have merged” as part of what it calls the “cyber-physical continuum.”
“Future networks will be a fundamental component for the functioning of virtually all parts of life, society,” the company says, with “countless sensors ... embedded in the physical world to send data to update the digital representation in real-time.”
The countries that signed the agreement say they see the technology as “facilitating the ability of participating governments and partners to protect national security” as well as being “reliable, resilient, safe, and protect[ing] the privacy of individuals.”
Health Concerns Continue
The rollout of 5G has been met with concern in many sectors, including medicine.While the article debunks claims of a link between 5G and COVID-19, it concludes that “based on the precautionary principle” there should be “a moratorium on the further roll-out of 5G systems globally, pending more conclusive research on their safety.”
