Ever wondered what it takes to test 5G on every stage of the Sydney Opera House in one day? From safety checks to a surprise live-streamed performance, here’s how we made it happen.
Footage: A man wearing a beige Telstra-branded cap and T-shirt stands outisde the Sydney Opera House. He is holding a testing instument and speaking directly to camera.
Mike: Hi, it's Mike Wood from Telstra. Now, we're down at the Sydney Opera House. This is just an awesome place to come. You can see the Opera House sails behind me and you can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Footage: A lady in one of the concert rooms in the Sydney Opera House, holding up a smartphone displaying the results of a network speed test. As we zoom in, we see that the gauge indicates a speed well above the halfway mark.
Mike: We've just put 5G through the Opera House and we hear the test that the network's working OK, and I can guarantee you it certainly is. We're getting super fast connections inside and with over 200 antennas, with active and passive antennas, we've got a very uniform coverage of 5G. They've gone from literally working with walkie talkies to now connecting up over 5G for all of the connections.
Footage: Three yellow EME testing devices mounted on tripods set up outside the Sydney Opera House. People are walking and sitting in the background, with trees and city buildings visible under clear blue skies.
Footage: Two yellow EME testing devices are positioned along the waterfront railing with Sydney Harbour in the background. The Harbour Bridge is visible to the left, and the Opera House sails appear on the right under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.
Mike: The other thing we've been doing is we've been looking at the safety aspects of the 5G network. On the weekend we were testing everything outside, so we were walking around all the public areas where everyone can go.
Footage: EME testing equipment set up along the Sydney Opera House. Two people wearing black shirts with a logo are standing in front of a robot dog. A third person is adjusting an EME testing unit on a tripod.
Mike: We had the robot dog helping us and we had our EMF test set.
Footage: A concert room in the Sydney Opera House, with a wide view of the stage and seating area. Musicians and performers are gathered on stage preparing for a performance.
Footage: View from the stage inside a Sydney Opera House auditorium, looking toward rows of empty purple seats. Two yellow EME testing devices on tripods are positioned at the front of the stage with additional equipment nearby.
Mike: We've been right through all the main concert rooms, all the main halls where the staff work and importantly, where all the productions happen.
Footage: An EME testing device on a tripod is set up inside a meeting room. The room has a long conference table surrounded by blue chairs and a wall-mounted screen displaying an image of the Sydney Opera House.
Mike: Now, what have we found? We found the total signal levels from all technologies. That's the Wi-Fi, the 5G and all the other radio signals are 100 times below the public safety limits.
Footage: Close-up of a handheld spectrum analyzer displaying frequency measurements. The screen shows a colourful graph with peaks across different frequencies and a spectrogram below.
Mike: So less than 1% of the public safety limit.
Footage: A split screen of Mike on the left, talking directly to the camera and on the right, a close-up of a handheld device displays an EME reading with a numeric value on the screen.
Footage: A woman in one of the concert rooms in the Sydney Opera House, holds up a smartphone displaying the results of a network speed test. As we zoom in, we see that the gauge indicates a speed well above the halfway mark.
Mike: And we've been activating the network as we go. So one of the key things is that we've got great 5G connection. We're ensuring it's safe and we're providing the reassurance to the public and importantly to the staff and all the production teams that work here. I just thought we'd summarise what we've found, but that's a wrap from the Sydney Opera House and I hope you enjoy the coverage and all the performances when you're there.
Footage: A tall communications tower stands against a clear sky at sunset.
End frame: Telstra logo.
Over the past two years, we've been progressively installing 5G connectivity throughout the Sydney Opera House, with more than 200 active antennas now live. As part of the final commissioning, our team conducted Electromagnetic Energy (EME) surveys to reassure staff and visitors about the safety of 5G.
EME refers to the electromagnetic energy emitted from our wireless communications.
Little did we know that we'd find ourselves 'performing' on every stage of the Sydney Opera House in a single day.
"But what was the performance?" you might ask. Well, EME testing across the venue, plus a solo performance from 2024 Telstra grad, Giselle Kwong, streamed live over 5G.
Pulling this off required serious planning. The Sydney Opera House is almost always alive with performances, so finding a window was no easy task. But with the incredible support from the Opera House operations team, we managed to secure a rare day when all the stages were free - just before the 2025 Vivid festival.
It was a massive effort for our team. We had one shot to get it right: the right people, the right equipment and flawless coordination. A highlight was watching Giselle take the stage while we livestreamed her performance in real time over 5G - a perfect showcase of the power of technology.
We tested all new 5G mobile and existing radio services across the venue. The results were impressive:
The Opera House team shared that 5G has transformed the way they work. They’ve moved from walkie-talkies to high-speed communication over 5G. It’s faster than Wi-Fi and provides full coverage across the entire building, making it easier to coordinate events and deliver unforgettable experiences.
So yes, we can now say we’ve 'performed' on every stage of the Sydney Opera House in one day. It was exhausting, but absolutely worth it. And it’s just the beginning of what 5G can do for iconic venues like the Sydney Opera House.
