Vodafone Australia is planning on switching on its first 5G mast “within weeks,” despite a drop in customer base and drop in revenue. Vodafone Australia has also taken the decision to move from Huawei to Nokia for all the equipment for the new 5G rollout, following information from the US regarding Huawei.

The first 5G site for Vodafone will be in Parramatta and it has 650 new mast sites in progress.

Vodafone Australia’s revenue dipped by 3% and the customer base for mobile dipped by 5%, however broadband customers increased by 7%, to a total of 114,000 active users.

“I don’t think there will be a material amount of 5G devices in the Australian market until the end of 2021. And for that reason, the capacity that needs to be dedicated to 4G is still much bigger than 5G.”

Iñaki Berroeta – Vodafone Australia