Tech Talk vs Real Talk

Industry jargon leaves many of us stumped, from gigabits and megabits to bandwidth and broadband. To help you understand how you’ll benefit from Optus 5G, we’ve translated some serious tech talk into some everyday real talk.

TECH TALK - Plug & Play

DEFINITION - For a quick and easy DIY home installation, Optus 5G Home is the answer. This refers to the wireless 5G home broadband modem which you can plug in anywhere that has an Optus 5G signal, and it will give you access to fast and reliable internet. Check to see if you’re in an Optus 5G signal area here.

TECH TALK - Bandwidth

DEFINITION - This tech term has been on the scene since the early days and it describes the amount of data that can flow through the network. Greater bandwidth allows more people to do more things online simultaneously.

TECH TALK - Megabits & Gigabits, Mbps/Gbps

DEFINITION - There’s a lot of talk about megabits and gigabits per second (Mbps and Gbps). To break it down, one gigabit is equal to 1,000 megabits. Both refer to the amount of data that is being transferred and received, often measuring the download rate per second. 5G allows gigabits to transfer to your device in record speed - an entire movie can potentially download in minutes.

TECH TALK - 5G is URLLC - Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications.

DEFINITION - This means your connection is more reliable and there’s minimal waiting.

TECH TALK - 5G Offers Low Communication Latency

DEFINITION - Latency refers to the duration of time between a network request and response. Low latency is when that wait is minimal, and the response fast.

TECH TALK - Optus 5G Towers

DEFINITION - These “towers” aren’t Eiffel in size (on the contrary), but 5G sites in selected areas dotted around the country that allow you to access Optus 5G (excl NT and TAS). The closer you are to a site, the stronger your 5G signal will be.

TECH TALK - 5G RAN Architecture (Radio Access Network)

DEFINITION - The “architecture” of the Optus 5G RAN refers to the overall network of 5G sites around the country.