Optus has switched on 4.5G network services across the suburb of Macquarie Park, Sydney's hi-tech innovation district, north-west of the city.

Dennis Wong, Managing Director of Networks at Optus, says 4.5G is a key area of investment for their network evolution towards 5G.

“It is an important enabler for 5G and we are excited to be able to deliver this new initiative to our customers at Macquarie Park,” he explains.

“One of the largest business districts in Sydney and home to our Sydney headquarters, we chose Macquarie Park as it offers a wide range of infrastructure: a university, shopping centre, transport hubs and a strong cross section of residential and business customers across 10 square kilometres.

Initially, 4.5G will also be rolled out in some capital cities and is expected to reach over 70% of the Optus network in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide within the next 12 months.

The launch of 4.5G could offer immediate significant benefits for customers in the area including improved customer experience during periods of high usage as a result of larger network capacity.

“Ultimately, the launch is a step closer to Optus being able to deliver 5G network speeds to customers and will continue to invest in R-D and our partnership with Huawei to achieve this,” adds Wong.

As Optus rolls out 4.5G across locations in Australia, it will continue its journey towards 5G andwill commence trials of massive MIMO 128T128R.