A revolutionary 5G mobile network is being hyped by Australian telcos as promising blistering download speeds, but a leading network expert says achieving optimal performance is still years away.

Professor Thas Nirmalathas, an expert in electronic engineering at Melbourne University, said the first stage of commercial 5G expected next year could face some limitations.

“The first release of the 5G network with 3.6 GHz speed will only be 20 to 30 per cent faster than 4G, but higher frequencies do have difficulties penetrating through walls and this could pose barriers,” Professor Nirmalathas told The New Daily.

He said the second stage of 5G (28 GHz), which promises optimum speeds, was still at least five years away.

“To get that optimum speed with 5G at 28 GHz (10 Gbps) the user needs to be directly near the base station or it’s going to be impossible for someone to get sufficient data at full speed,” he said.

“5G with 3.6 GHz speeds can be rolled out very similar to the current 4G network, but with 28 GHz the deployment will require significantly more base stations be built and that’s definitely some years away.”

Professor Nirmalathas said consumer law on advertised 5G and broadband speeds needed heavier regulations.

Experts are calling for more regulation on advertised speeds. Photo: Getty

“The problem we’re facing with internet service providers is that they only advertise the maximum speeds to consumers and that leaves them in the dark. This is why minimum speeds need to be advertised.

“In Britain the regulator has asked all internet service providers to be clear on what speeds can be achieved and this should apply to mobile carriers too,” he said.

Telco expert Dr Mark Gregory told The New Daily the first stages of 5G would face some speed limitations. 

“Phones will still be geared towards 4G networks in the early days of the 5G rollout, but we will see a progressive focus of this technology shortly after,” Dr Gregory told The New Daily.

He said the deployment of small cells (small base stations) would come at a great cost, but would be worth it for consumers.

“The benefits of 5G will include much higher speeds, access to the capacity to be able to connect to millions of devices such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and the connectivity to smart cars.”

Australian telcos gearing up for 5G

Earlier this year, Telstra and Optus had already begun 5G trials at the Commonwealth Games.

“Telstra is looking forward to hosting leading 5G developers from around the world so Australian businesses can begin developing products and services that will take advantage of 5G,” a Telstra spokesman told The New Daily in July.

An Optus Spokeswoman in July told The New Daily the company intended to begin rolling out its 5G network in early 2019 to selected metro areas.

“In this first phase of rollout, customers will be able to access 5G via a fixed wireless product,” the spokeswoman said.

But a Vodafone spokeswoman said that before 5G became a reality in Australia there needed to be 5G handsets and spectrum.

“5G handsets are not expected to be widely available until 2020, and 5G spectrum will not be available for some time after the upcoming auction,” the spokeswoman said.

The 5G network is expected to be rolled out nationwide by 2020, around the same time the NBN is expected to complete its rollout, with early 5G access in key metro areas from 2019.