It’s an exciting time to be a fan of fast, low-latency wireless connections here in Perth, Western Australia! Pentanet’s neXus is well underway — we have identified the first areas for targeted infrastructure rollout with services expected to start coming online in Q3FY22.
More than 8,000 people have already registered to form part of the network by having 60 GHz cnWave™ technology installed at their premises thanks to the launch of the ‘Join Operation neXus’ campaign.
Installing hardware at the homes and businesses of these engaged early adopters before the network goes live allows us to scale the coverage density of neXus across the Perth metro area while our field teams undertake the targeted infrastructure rollout. People are excited about the next generation of wireless mesh technology, and they are lining up to help us develop their community’s mesh.
Of course, Pentanet’s innovative network design rollout has only been made possible by the Terragraph mmWave technology developed by Meta (Facebook) Connectivity and Cambium Networks’ 60 GHz cnWave fixed wireless distribution and client nodes.
Real-world deployment of neXus in the field has proven capable of delivering last-mile speeds of 1-2 Gbps to multiple mesh points, with the farthest-reaching node more than 3 km from the nearest backhaul tower site.
The implications of this gigabit-capable wireless technology are massive for Australians who are still stuck on outdated fixed-line connections. We’re seeing a consistent increase in demand for bandwidth-heavy, latency-sensitive cloud-based applications, and with the Metaverse now firmly on our doorstep, our need for more data is only going to increase.
As of March 2022, Australia was ranked #61 on the Speedtest Global Index’s list of median fixed broadband speeds, with Perth retaining its place as the second slowest city in the country. As Pentanet’s neXus coverage expands and the power of our next-generation wireless mesh technology becomes apparent to more and more everyday Aussies, we hope to make a positive impact on these figures, starting with Perth.
I’m proud to say that Pentanet is more than an ordinary telco, daring to introduce new ideas and technology that can positively impact the world around us, not just the screens in front of us. We combine the provisioning of next-level internet connections with the delivery of products and services that put those connections to good use.
The strides we’ve made with neXus here in WA and across the country with NVIDIA’s world-leading cloud gaming platform, GeForce NOW Powered by Pentanet, are thanks to our team’s fierce dedication to bringing people together, inspiring impactful innovation, and leading the digital edge for Australia and beyond.
Being recognised as the Connectivity Hero of the Year 2021 for our work on neXus is a tremendous honour and a testament to this dedication, and I can’t wait to see what the people of Perth will accomplish and create once they harness the full power of gigabit connectivity.
Stephen Cornish is the CEO of Pentanet.