Optus has enhanced its 5G network capacity and coverage across regional Australia, transforming connectivity for communities and businesses outside the major cities.
The initiative will see the deployment of Nokia’s advanced Habrok Massive MIMO radios and Levante baseband solutions to deliver faster data speeds, broader coverage and improved service reliability to Australians living and working in regional areas.
The upgrade is particularly significant for regional communities, where access to high-speed, reliable internet is crucial for everything from streaming entertainment and remote work to supporting local businesses and education.
“We know connectivity is vital for our customers so they can stream their favourite content, download TV shows and movies, or upload pictures and videos onto their favourite social media platforms. The Habrok 32 massive MIMO radios bring the right balance of performance and cost efficiency for upgrading our 5G network to elevate consumer experiences and drive business productivity,” said Kent Wu, Vice President of Access Network Strategy, Planning and Quality at Optus.
At the heart of the upgrade are Nokia’s Habrok 32 massive MIMO radios, powered by ReefShark System-on-Chip (SoC) technology. These radios deliver a 33 percent boost in output power while significantly reducing energy consumption, making them ideal for expanding coverage in hard-to-reach areas without increasing environmental impact. The radios’ “Extreme Deep Sleep” power-saving mode further enhances energy efficiency, switching off unused resources without affecting network performance.
Nokia’s Levante baseband cards, designed for AI-readiness and ultra-performance, double the capacity of previous generations while using half the power. This lets Optus handle more data traffic efficiently to ensure that service quality remains high even as demand grows.
This network expansion follows Optus’s Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) RAN-sharing agreement with TPG Telecom, enabling the use of shared spectrum assets and accelerating the rollout of next-generation connectivity to regional Australians.
“Our AirScale Massive MIMO radios and ultra-performance baseband solutions enable fast network modernisation, providing a boost in 5G coverage and speeds for enhanced user experience while maximizing spectral efficiency. We are also helping Optus drive network sustainability through software innovations such as the extreme deep sleep energy-saving mode,” said Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia.
Entelechy Asia 