Australians are ready to embrace 5G – and we also want even more mobile data

It is estimated there will be more than 10 million 5G phone connections in Australia by 2022 with parts of the 3G network expected to be shut down in 2020, according to tech analyst firm Telsyte.

Australians will get their first taste of 5G in 2019 with fixed mobile broadband solutions.

But the first 5G handsets are not expected until the second half of 2019 but more likely well into 2020.

Telsyte says 5G will also shift the current market driven by price competition and enable innovations in mobile plans and the services bundled in with them.

And our adoption of 5G will be swift.

Telsyte has this pegged at more than 10 million users by 2022 – which will be less than three years after the availability of 5G smartphones.

Telsyte also predicts that at least one network operator will begin a shutdown of its 3G services by 2020.

The Telsyte study also found the BYO handset market is growing steadily with customers able to secure competitive plans with generous data allowances.

Mobile network operators have significantly increased mobile data inclusions and put the pressure on MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) like Amaysim and Kogan Mobile.

In 2017 the average data allowance on mobile plans increased by more than 100 per cent while the average data usage on smart phones grew by only 49 per cent.

This shows that only half of the average data allowance per user was utilised in 2017, which is down from 67 per cent in 2016.

Telsyte’s research revealed that one in three (32 per cent) think they are paying too much for their current mobile services.

Mobile connectivity is playing a big part in our lives with quarter of all Australians forced to tether to their mobile device in the last 12 months because their fixed broadband connection at home or the office was slow or not working.

But fixed broadband data is not slowing down anytime soon with usage expected to grow at around 40 per cent per annum.

Telsyte predicts an unlimited “any connection” service, which will connect either via the mobile or fixed line network, will be popular among customers who are increasingly reliant on their mobile devices

“The market is conditioning people to consider and pay for different access technologies separately, but ultimately consumers just want their Internet to work, anywhere at any given time, on all their digital devices,” Telsyte Senior Analyst Alvin Lee says.