Australia operator TPG Telecom stepped up its 5G buildout, taking 5G coverage to 85 per cent of the population in ten cities, as it launched a standalone (SA) core connecting devices directly to its next-generation network without the need for a 4G connection.

The operator said it is adding more than 100 5G sites each month, using 700MHz and 3.6GHz spectrum. It is also testing newly-acquired mmWave spectrum in the 26GHz band. Its 5G network now supports around 1 million 5G devices.

CEO Inaki Berroeta said the upgraded SA core network amplified its 700MHz spectrum, “tripling our 5G coverage and giving us greater reach across suburbs and in densely populated areas. This will give us a competitive boost going forward”.

He said it aims to deploy around 160 5G sites in November.

Berroeta said its merger last year with Vodafone Hutchison Australia enabled it to build a better 5G network faster than it otherwise would have.

In September the operator set the target of reaching 85 per cent coverage by end-2021 in ten cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra.

TPG also announced, together with Samsung, it expanded ongoing 5G virtualised RAN mmWave trials to additional sites after completing tests on the 26GHz band which kicked off in July at its innovation lab.

The companies said they achieved a throughput speed of 2.3Gb/s using 400MHz of 26GHz spectrum and the vendor’s 5G mmWave compact macro device.