Australia's largest telecommunications and media company Telstra is to partner with Swedish multi-national corporation Ericsson to test the new technology. 

Mike Wright, managing director of networks at Telstra, claimed during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that Gold Coast 2018 will give the company an understanding of how 5G radio hardware performs in the field.

The trials may not necessarily involve finished smartphones, however, as manufacturers might not yet be ready for the technology.

“With 2018, it’s a bit early to say precisely [what the tests will involve],” Wright said.

“We expect to have some early prototypes of the radio hardware.

"We probably won’t have production handsets, we’ll be using some test silicon.”