When Telstra made the world’s first commercial 5G call last month, the Australian telecoms company lauded it as evidence the country would be a world leader in the next generation of wireless technology. But a shortage of spectrum and a possible ban on Huawei, the world’s biggest telecoms equipment maker, are alarming Telstra’s rivals and causing experts to warn of potential market upheaval. 

“A government decision to ban Huawei would almost certainly cause chaos, raise prices for consumers and leave Telstra’s main rivals — Vodafone, Optus and TPG Telecom — as much as 18 months behind it in terms of the rollout of 5G,” said Mark Gregory, associate professor of network engineering at RMIT University in Melbourne. 

He predicts the costs of rolling out 5G would be 20-30 per cent higher if China’s Huawei were excluded on national security grounds, leaving only Nokia and Ericsson as viable equipment providers.