Vodafone Hutchison Australia will start deploying 5G in the first half of next year, with partner Nokia. Vodafone CEO Inaki Berroeta said the company has been working with Nokia for several years and that the partnership will accelerate Vodafone’s delivery of 5G. Berroeta said the partnership was the final step in a long process following the federal government’s security guidance in August 2018, when it banned China’s Huawei and ZTE from taking part in the rollout of 5G network networks in the country.
Vodafone plans to switch on its first group of 5G sites in and around Paramatta over the coming months. The sites originally made up a test network which Nokia used to demonstrate its technology. These will now become the first area of commercial coverage for Vodafone’s 5G network and become available to Vodafone customers with a compatible 5G device.
The agreement between Vodafone and Nokia is for a term of at least 5 years. Under the deal, Vodafone will be able to place orders with Nokia for site delivery, according to its requirements. Nokia presented an advanced 5G Roadmap that will enable 5G for Vodafone in all the spectrum bands currently in use for 4G, and implementation of new generation 5G Massive MIMO antennas.
