New super-speed 5G network 130 times faster than 4G

Mobile phone data speeds that will allow you to download an episode of your favourite TV show in as little as five seconds? The dream could be reality sooner than you think.

Telstra chief executive Andy Penn told last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that the telco giant was planning a world-first trial of the super-fast 5G technology during next year’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

A full roll-out could begin around Australia from 2019.

“We’re working with many global operators and technology companies to bring 5G to Australia at the very early stages,” he said.

Australia’s current 4G network connectivity gives users 150 megabytes per second with sporadic signals sent to mobile phone towers.

The new 5G network would be a mind-blowing 130 times faster, with speeds of 20Gbps thanks to a constant connection.

A half-hour episode of Home and Away would take just five seconds to download while longer shows such as Game of Thrones would arrive in just 10 seconds.

But it’s not all about giving us a quicker fix of our favourite programs.

The technology also has myriad applications in other sectors, including connectivity to vehicles and even white goods, as well as health care, where faster data speeds would allow care providers to better monitor patients.

Optus and Vodafone are also testing the 5G technology.

Mr Penn said Telstra had been meeting top tech firms including Google, Microsoft, Ericsson and Qualcomm in an effort to speed up delivery of 5G to Australia.

“Australians are very early adopters of technology and we also play a key role in being at the forefront of the development of global standards, ” he told News Corp.

“We were around 3G, we were around 4G, and we will be around 5G.

“It’s important those global standards take into consideration the peculiarities of the Australian market.”

Telstra has also lobbied hard for technological changes that would help deliver faster download speeds to regional areas and not just cities.