Mobile Phone Technology in Australia
The technology that connects us has significantly advanced from its earlier iterations. Today, mobile and broadband technologies empower us to accomplish more with our computers and smartphones than ever before. With terms like NBN, ADSL, 4G, 5G, and VoIP commonly used, navigating this landscape can be challenging. Explore the various types of broadband connections in Australia, understand the distinctions between 4G and 5G, and more by reading further.
Mobile phone technology
In just a short span of time, mobile phones have become an invaluable part of everyday life. From keeping up with the latest TV shows, to checking in on friends, to working away from the office, mobile phones bring the world together in ways that were never possible just a few short years ago.
Mobile phones are always evolving, as well, with technology evolving in ways humankind couldn’t have imagined in the last century. The 5G network is just starting to be made available, and with it a whole host of exciting possibilities, while those who were once unable to connect to friends and family have the technology to do so now thanks to satellite phone technology.
Mobile broadband: data-only for on-the-go
Mobile broadband, like wireless home broadband, connects to the internet using the mobile phone network. Unlike wireless home broadband, mobile broadband is mobile. Customers can insert the mobile broadband SIM-card into any data-enabled device such as a tablet, wifi dongle, or battery-powered hot-spot. Oftentimes, mobile broadband plans are also called data-only plans, as these operate in the same way a mobile phone plan does, but come without services such as talk or SMS allowances.
Mobile broadband plans range from 1GB of data per month up to 250GB, and run at the same speeds as other data-enabled devices.
5G and the future
As mentioned previously, 5G is beginning to roll out across the country through Telstra and Optus. While only available in certain areas of Australia and currently only available via Optus with their fixed wireless broadband devices, 5G is expected to be available nationwide by the end of 2020 on all three network providers.
5G, or 5th generation cellular wireless technology uses a system of cell sites (like previous cellular wireless technology) to send data over radio waves. Unlike 4G, and other generations, 5G utilizes higher, short-distance millimetre-wave frequencies to increase flexibility and speeds while lowering latency to allow for a more receptive experience.
But, just how fast is 5G compared to 4G?5G is expected to reach download speeds of more than 10Gigabits/second, compared to 4G’s 10Megabits/second. This is due to 5G technology using larger channels than 4G, made possible on those higher radio frequencies that 4G doesn’t reach, as well as more efficient encoding.
Outside of mobile phones, 5G can be applied to areas such as:
- Medicine to allow for virtual diagnosing and virtual surgeries
- Fully autonomous vehicles
- Better online banking and banking security
By increasing the connectedness of all mobile network devices, they will be able to work together with more speed and efficiency than ever before.
Satellite phones
While the three network providers in Australia cover up to 98% of the population, this does not mean full network coverage across the country. Indeed, for those living in isolated or rural areas, it’s not only difficult to connect to a mobile network, but it can also be dangerous. For those who cannot connect to the mobile network, satellite phones, or sat phones, are an important and necessary tool to keep connected.
Sat phones work differently from traditional mobile phones. While mobile phones connect to nearby radio towers on Earth, sat phones (as their name suggest) connect to satellites orbiting around the Earth in space. This means that even if you don’t get mobile network coverage, you can still be connected via satellite to anywhere in the world. While they are paramount for those who live in isolated areas, the lack of demand and minimal satellite infrastructure means these phones can be costly.
In addition, the distance between the caller, the satellite, and the recipient, means that there is a delay in the conversation.
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