Telstra has announced the achievement of Australia’s first live 5G connection using a commercial 5G chipset on the telco’s mobile network.

Telstra said the Australian first was accomplished using a form factor device in collaboration with two of its network partners Ericsson and Qualcomm on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

“It brings together all of the end to-end 5G network components for this real world 5G data call in the field,” said Telstra.

“Today’s announcement is a significant milestone as it signals that commercial 5G devices are getting closer and closer,” said Telstra Network Engineering Executive  Channa Seneviratne. “Field testing in our real-world mobile network with this chipset over our commercial spectrum moves the verification well and truly from the lab into the street.”

“The team will continue testing over the coming months to improve data rates and overall performance in readiness for device availability,” Seneviratne said.