Telstra and Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), today announced is has successfully completed a 100km long-range 5G data call on a mid-band Time Division Duplex (TDD) Advanced Antenna System (AAS) radio in a live commercial network to extend it’s reach

In a world first groundbreaking achievement Telstra and Ericsson performed a 5G data call over a 100km long-range distance in Burra, South Australia, located approximately two hours north of Adelaide.

Testing the long range 5G data call

During the test, the maximum throughput achieved at 100km was 89Mbps. The test calls for 5G Standalone (SA) data were carried out using Telstra’s n78 (3600MHz) spectrum, showcasing Carrier Aggregation (CA) between Band 5 (850MHz) and n78

The host base station was equipped with Ericsson’s AIR6488 TDD AAS radio and an Ericsson Baseband 6630 running on commercial software.

Two models of Samsung handsets were used in the long-range testing, a Samsung A53 using a Samsung LSI Exynos chipset and a Samsung A13 using a MediaTek chipset.

This innovative feature will allow Telstra to expand the reach of 5G Massive MIMO AAS radios to remote rural areas, providing 5G capacity and faster downlink speeds to an even larger customer base.

Although situations allowing a full 100km extension will be limited, there will be many areas in regional/rural Australia where effective 5G coverage will now reach well beyond 15km, meaning more 5G coverage in more places. 

Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson, Australia and New Zealand, said “Once again Telstra and Ericsson are leading the industry to extend the reach of new mobile technologies. This milestone is another example of how we’re innovating to deliver connectivity to more Australians.”

While this feature will not extend reach where it is already limited by terrain, vegetation or other obstructions, in situations where an area has clear line-of-site to the antenna on an enabled site, a connection can be established as far as 100km.

Nikos Katinakis, Telstra Group Executive Global Network & Technology, said “We have a responsibility to deliver the very best connectivity to regional customers including the benefits and the experience of 5G.”

“We’re working hard and making sure we invest in the world’s best technology to make sure all Australians have access to the largest and most reliable network now and in the future.”

“This world first achievement is just one of the ways we are committed to improving coverage over time,” said Katinakis.

Telstra plans to activate the long-range feature selectively, taking into account the coverage benefits for each mobile site and their local requirements and environment.

After completion of testing and consideration of device dependencies, the company anticipates beginning selective field deployments later in 2023.