The take-up of 5G from mobile users is going slower than expected, according to new research by comparison site Finder. In its survey of 824 respondents with a mobile phone plan only 19% have access to a 5G service, well short of the estimated 75% of the Australian population with Telstra 5G coverage.
What was revealing is that 45% of mobile customers don’t want 5G, 30% don’t have 5G access but want it, and 6% did not know what 5G is.
According to Finder tech spokesman, Angus Kidman, Australians are slower to adopt 5G than expected with some concerns about safety, possibly impacting the adoption rate.
“We’ve seen a number of unfounded conspiracy theories about 5G, from cancer risk to dead birds to virus transmission but 5G is the same technology as 3G and 4G, except using slightly different frequencies. These frequencies have a shorter range than 4G signals, which is why you’ll see extra radio towers being built, not for any other sinister reason,” he said.
New data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) shows Telstra, Optus and Vodafone collectively hold 87% of the total retail mobile phone market and have more than 95% of the post-paid market.
Mobile addiction on the rise?
Are Australians becoming a mobile-dependent lot? According to a new study from products and services group, Reviews.org, the answer is ‘yes’ with 46% of survey respondents admitting they are addicted to their phone. Also, 79% claim to check their phone within 10 minutes of waking up while the average time spent each day on the phone is 5.6 hours.
Most users said they felt “uneasy” if they left their phone at home and a third said they had gone over their data allowance from using their phone so much.