Australia-based TPG Telecom worked with Nokia to launch what they claimed as the world’s first standalone (SA) 5G network on the 700MHz band, with the service turned on in parts of Sydney.

The vendor supplied its ReefShark-based AirScale product range, which incudes triple-band remote radio units covering 700MHz, 850MHz and 900MHz bands capable of supporting 3G, 4G and 5G simultaneously.

Barry Kezik, executive general manager of Mobile and Fixed Networks at TPG Telecom, said: “We’re excited to be the first network in the world to realise the true potential of low-band SA at 700MHz.”

He added low-band will expand its 5G coverage, “supporting our goal of reaching 85 per cent of the population in Australia’s top six cities by the end of the year”.

The low-band SA deployment enables the operator to provide wide outdoor and deep indoor coverage in urban and suburban areas.

In April, TPG Telecom stated its 5G network was available in around 450 suburbs.

A month later, Telstra partnered with Ericsson to upgrade its entire next-generation network with SA. It launched 5G service on the 3.6GHz band in May 2019.