LICENSES OFFERED

Australian media and communications regulator, ACMA, has announced that a total of 15 applicant companies have all been offered a license in the 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands.

The watchdog said that the successful applicants are as follows:

• MarchNet
• Dreamtilt
• Field Solutions Group
• Opticomm
• Nokia
• NBN Co
• Optus
• Telstra
• Vocus
• Starlink (SpaceX)
• WorldVu (One Web)
• Inmarsat, Viasat
• O3B/SES S.A
• New Skies Satellites/SES

Very interesting to see Space X on the list, given their recent calls for satellite expansion in Australia.

ACMA said that a number of applicants intend to provide wireless broadband services across all states and territories and across urban, regional and rural areas. 

There was also considerable uptake from fixed satellite service providers across Australia, including from existing providers and new entrants to the Australian satellite market.

“mmWave can enable the transfer of large amounts of data with minimal delay – allowing faster digital communication and new opportunities for connectivity and innovative uses supporting Australia’s digital transformation,” ACMA said in a release.

Using the new area-wide licenses, applicants were able to identify the regions and amount of spectrum they would seek to use. 

Spectrum which was not allocated in this initial application round in the 26 GHz (24.7-25.1 GHz) and 28 GHz (27.5-29.5 GHz) bands will be made available for allocation later this month.

The application period runs from December 14, 2020 to January 21, 2021. The spectrum auction is scheduled to commence in April 2021.

A further allocation round for spectrum in the 26 GHz band (25.1 – 27.5 GHz) band, covering regional and remote areas in Australia, will then follow at the conclusion of this auction, the regulator said.

In the second half of 2021, the Australian government will allocate low-band 5G spectrum (in the 850/900 MHz band), which will be key for broader geographic coverage of 5G services.

5G SPREADS

Australian operators have been accelerating 5G deployments during 2020 in response to the coronavirus ‘pandemic’ sweeping the country.

In October, Australian carrier Telstra said it has already deployed over 2,000 5G base stations in the country, providing 5G coverage to 41% of Australia’s population.

The telco said that it aims to cover 75% of the country’s population with its 5G service by June 2021, declaring it the “year of 5G”.

Telstra, which had launched 5G in May last year, is currently using its spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band to provide 5G technology across Australia.

Some of the cities in which Telstra offers its 5G service are Canberra, Central Coast, Brisbane, Sidney, Cairns, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Hamilton, Melbourne and Perth.

When the official wavelengths finally go on auction, this is when 5G will truly be accelerated. And they are not alone in their quest.

Rival operator Optus had launched commercial mobile 5G operations in 2019.

Optus’ 5G network had 900 live sites and was available to more than 426,000 households across Australia as of the end of August.

In July, Optus announced it was testing 5G mmWave technology in partnership with Ericsson.

In August, TPG Telecom announced plans to accelerate its 5G rollout over the next 12 months, with over 85% of the population in the country’s six largest cities expected to be served by the end of next year.

TPG Telecom said the six cities where 5G will be initially available are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra.

Like a real plague spreading across the land, 5G speeds will allow for future systems of control to come to fruition in a new digital dystopia.

THE GREAT (DIGITAL) RESET

Authorities have been on a mission to transform society for many years now, and as an era of transhuman, biometric control approaches, advances in technology will underpin the transition.

This is where 5G comes into the equation.

Experts have warned 5G technology will bring “unparalleled surveillance”, and it will no doubt be at underlying glue holding a new digital era together.

To demonstrate this, ACMA member James Cameron said the mmWave spectrum will enable a wide range of new services which will benefit Australian businesses and consumers:

“It is important for smart farming, robotics, telemedicine and other emerging technologies,” he said.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is slowly gaining momentum, and the ongoing Mind Virus psychological operation provided the catalyst for this to expand — and change.

In the wake of COVID-19, business leaders have been maneuverer (or forced) to adopt digital models and a new trajectory for digital transformation that aligns with the changing role of their business.

Among the many trends that COVID-19 has accelerated, two stand out:

Calls are rising for companies to lead in addressing societal challenges and a marketplace is indicates companies must adopt digital business models at their core to survive. We have witnessed this for months now. 

Digital transformation is at the heart of the World Economic Forum’s ‘Great Reset’ plan, and the group has addressed these questions in a report, Digital Transformation: Powering The Great Reset:

According to the document: “COVID-19 has accelerated our transition into the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have to make sure that the new technologies in the digital, biological and physical world remain human-centred and serve society as a whole.”

Many of the systems detailed to drive a ‘sustainable world’, including smart city initiatives, will be driven by a new world of digital acceptance. 5G, AR, cashless society — all set to become a reality.

In 2020 and beyond, the ‘Accelerating Digital Transformation’ programme, facilitated by the World Economic Forum, will support conversations and collaborations among the members of a growing community of leaders who are redefining digital business transformation in society.

Create the problem, garner the reaction and offer the solution.

Just like it was planned all along.

The next few weeks may get very interesting, folks. Strap yourselves in.

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