Vertical: Multi-User Dwelling
Application: High-speed internet, disaster resilience, smart home integration, Autonomous vehicles
Ecosystem: Prospecta Utilities
Private Network: 5G
In a first for Australia’s residential sector, the GemLife Gold Coast over-50s community has implemented a private wireless 5G network, demonstrating remarkable resilience during recent extreme weather conditions while major carriers experienced widespread outages.
The mmWave network, developed by Prospecta Utilities, remained fully operational throughout tropical cyclone Alfred, providing residents with uninterrupted access to broadband services and television when more than 300,000 homes lost power and thousands faced phone and internet disruptions.
“It’s an important example of the need to diversify telecommunications networks, to protect the community from the mass impacts experienced during events like natural disasters or cyber security breaches,” explained Mark Langdon, CEO at Prospecta Utilities.
After completing a six-month trial, the network was activated last month for 45 homes at the AUD $200 million GemLife Gold Coast development in Pimpama, Queensland. Plans are underway to eventually connect all 400 residences within the community.
The technology combines a 5G core with mmWave radios, delivering internet speeds up to 650 megabits per second—550% faster than typical Australian households—along with unlimited data and 99.8% network availability. This performance level opens possibilities for advanced applications that conventional networks struggle to support.
Residents are already experiencing the benefits. Jeff Ward, a resident and retired IT expert, uses voice-activated technology to simplify household management: “When we finish a particular grocery item, we just tell the system to order another one.”
GemLife CEO Adrian Puljich highlighted how the network prepares the community for future technological advancements: “As telehealth develops, our residents will have the capability to connect devices to the network so doctors can keep an eye on their recovery in real-time, using things like wearable health monitors, rehabilitation equipment, and augmented reality therapy devices.”
Looking ahead, the community is positioned to adopt autonomous vehicles and connected smart systems that would enhance sustainability and living conditions. “If we wish to introduce autonomous vehicles to assist our community in getting around the site, well, this is the sort of network you require,” noted a GemLife executive.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority’s decision to allow organizations outside major mobile operators to access spectrum licenses was crucial in enabling this innovation. Prospecta Utilities and GemLife now aim to extend this technology to 14,000 homes across 30 land lease resorts in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria by 2028.
Once fully deployed, the network is expected to deliver 20 terabytes of data monthly via 39 radio access points, offer cloud-based services, and provide customized free-to-air television.
