Nudge for Govt as Spark tables 5G date
Telco boss getting ‘impatient’ as other countries progress but minister says major considerations not resolved
SSurrounded by members of Emirates Team NZ, the telco boss officially started a countdown clock at his company’s new 5G Lab at Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter.
Moutter said a pre-commercial 5G service would help Team NZ analyse performance data and stream video in real-time as it prepares for the 2021 America’s Cup.
He said it was possible 5G would allow viewers to watch Cup races via virtual reality headsets, with immersive high definition video fed from Team NZ’s boat in real time during races.
He added that on an everyday level, mobile data traffic was roughly doubling every 12 months, 5G (which is much faster than the 4G or fourth generation technology used by mobile networks today) would be needed just to make sure cellular network didn’t get congested over the next few years.
“Data volumes will start to exceed 4G’s sensible limits around 2020/2021.”
Moutter said for Spark to hit its July 2020 deadline, the Government has to auction spectrum early to mid next year.
Although Spark’s desired 5G launch date is 509 days away, it will take a lot of time to build and test the network, and overcome issues such as interference, Moutter said — no doubt mindful of his company’s disastrous “XT” 3G network launch, when it was first taken to the High Court by Vodafone over interference, then suffered multi-day outages caused by technical glitches.
Unfortunately there’s nothing to put it in scale, but Spark had a drone the size of a lawnmower (and about as noisy) hovering outside its 5G launch, streaming ultra high def video.
But Moutter also conceded it was tricky to give an exact timeline when Communications Minister Kris Faafoi and MBIE have yet to say when the Government will hold a 5G spectrum auction — or confirm whether it will include the “C-band” spectrum that Spark is keen on.
Moutter said with Australia’s 5G auction taking place this month, “If we don’t start to make spectrum policy decisions quickly, we will be left behind by our close neighbours and many other countries.”
He noted that the UK and South Korea will have 5G networks in 2019, while US telco AT&T will start a rollout this year.
The Spark boss said his company was talking constructively with the Government, but he added he was getting “impatient” as other countries moved ahead.
Faafoi said the auction will take place in time for Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees to build 5G networks that can be launched in early 2020, but talking to the Herald, he did not yield to Moutter’s demand to get cracking.
“I have discussed with Simon Moutter directly the need to maximise the benefits of 5G for all New Zealand. Spark does want to move with speed but the Government has to balance that with broader considerations and the long-term impact of these decisions,” Faafoi said.
“There are a number of significant considerations that need to be worked through such as, spectrum-related Treaty of Waitangi obligations, ensuring appropriate security measures and the method for spectrum allocation.”
The 5G auction is a potential windfall for the Government. Spark ($149m), Vodafone ($66m) and 2degrees ($44m) spent a total of $259m
on various chunks of 4G spectrum in 2014. But as reserve prices are set, Faafoi also has to weigh the fact that the cost of bids will ultimately be passed on to consumers.
Faafoi and GCSB Minister Andrew Little are also yet to confirm whether Spark partner Huawei will be allowed as a 5G technology supplier (another area where Moutter has been vocal).
In the meantime, Spark’s 5G Lab, located in the Grid AKL shared space at Wynyard Quarter, includes two live 5G cellsites. The telco says businesses can use the lab to experiment with 5G applications.
“It’s also a place to showcase technologies that will redefine the way we work, live and play eg robotics, virtual reality, facial recognition, Internet of Things, smart cities, emergency services drones, and driverless cars,” Moutter said.
New Vodafone boss Jason Paris has taken a more softly-softly line on 5G. He told the Herald his company would “embrace 5G like it’s our best friend”.
But he also said telcos had to get out of a cycle of investing ahead of customer demand.
There are no 5G-compatible smartphones today, and none on the horizon.
“What I want to see before we accelerate 5G is the customer use cases that justify us accelerating it,” he said. “We’ll embrace it . . . but I would like to see us create some value for us as well as our customers from this — not just cost for us and discounts for our customers.”