Driverless cars, remotely-conducted surgeries, “smelling” concerts virtually: the promo video heralding Spark’s 5G mobile trial did not hold back in painting a picture of the brave new world awaiting Kiwis.

There was even a security robot on hand for the launch, rolling along the Wellington footpaths somewhat gratuitously and baffling pedestrians.

The reality of the trial is a little more prosaic: Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Minister Clare Curran could not try out Lightbox on her phone as she had jokingly hoped for, instead using speed-testing equipment on a ute parked near 5G antennas mounted on the Stout St Exchange Building.

Spark managing director Simon Moutter said the outdoor trial was a chance to test the spectrum and service in a real-world environment, moving on from earlier work in the lab.

“We can see how it works around the streets, how it penetrates buildings, what effect rain has on signal, does traffic and mobile traffic affect the signal - it’s all part of the performance testing before we move into a roll out process.”

Continue here to read the full article by Sam Sachdeva on Newsroom  ||  March 20, 2018   |||