- Pentanet (5GG) has secured a 15-year licence for high-band 5G spectrum in the 26 gigahertz April Auction conducted by the ACMA
- The licence is for 200 megahertz of 5G millimetre wave spectrum covering the Greater Perth area in Western Australia
- The licence fee of $8 million will be paid in equal instalments over a five-year period, with $1.6 million paid in FY 2021 out of existing cash reserves
- The extended reach of bandwidth from towers using 5G means Pentanet’s fixed wireless technology, Terragraph, will be able to be deployed at greater scale and from anywhere within a five-kilometre radius of an existing tower
- Pentanet shares are up 1.7 per cent, trading at 89.5 cents
Pentanet (5GG) has secured a 15-year licence for high band 5G spectrum in the 26 gigahertz April Auction.
The licence is for 200 megahertz of 5G millimetre wave spectrum covering the Greater Perth area in Western Australia, including Perth, Mandurah, Bunbury and Margaret River.
The licence fee of $8 million will be paid in equal instalments over a five-year period, with $1.6 million paid in FY 2021 out of existing cash reserves.
Identified as optimal for the delivery of 5G wireless broadband services, the 26 gigahertz (GHz) band allows for significantly increased spacing between transmission towers and equipment, providing scope for Pentanet to increase network coverage and backhaul more quickly, at reduced cost.
The company says the 26 GHz band is a critical pillar in the deployment of 5G services both nationally and globally.
The acquisition of spectrum in this band increases the capability of Pentanet’s fixed wireless business, Terragraph, enabling the delivery of multi-gigabit speeds anywhere in the service areas, thereby accelerating the deployment phase and capability of the Terragraph network.
The extended reach of bandwidth from towers using 5G means Terragraph will be able to be deployed at greater scale and from anywhere within a five-kilometre radius of an existing tower, as opposed to only 250 metres a time outward from the existing tower footprint, as initially planned.
Exclusive access to 5G spectrum will also allow Pentanet to maintain the high-performance and high-capacity of its network, providing a future upgrade path for the company’s fixed wireless network as use of towers increases over time.
Pentanet Managing Director, Stephen Cornish, said that the acquisition of 5G spectrum will result in significant acceleration in the deployment of Pentanet’s Terragraph, and network coverage in greater Perth.
“Having access to our own 5G licensed spectrum elevates us to a new height as a telecommunications carrier,” said Cornish.
“We went into the auction unsure if we would be able to compete with the larger players, but our team was able to strategically secure a meaningful allocation at a price point that made sense for our use-case.”
“We now have exclusive access to the 5G spectrum for at least 15 years, so this is truly a once in a generation opportunity that we have been able to secure. It provides us with a tremendous opportunity to accelerate and optimise our network deployment, particularly deploying our Terragraph network technology at a far more rapid scale.”
Pentanet shares are up 1.7 per cent, trading at 89.5 cents at 1:25 pm AEST.