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Fuzzy Logic Exclusive: Telstra delivers Next-G speed boost at last
Fuzzy Logic Exclusive: Telstra delivers Next-G speed boost at last | Exclusive: Telstra delivers Next-G speed boost at last |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Tuesday, 25 September 2007 | |
  
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The benefit of the new 7.2Mbps standard isn’t just faster download speeds, known as HSDPA or high speed downlink packet access, but also much faster upload speeds, which is known as HSUPA or high speed uplink packet access. Download speeds now range from 550Kbps to 3000Kbps (or 3Mbps), with burst speeds of up to 6Mbps. Upload speeds now range from 300Kbps to 1000Kbps (or 1Mbps), with burst speeds of up to 1.3Mbps. Previously, the 3.6Mbps-class Next-G devices topped out at around 1.5Mbps speeds for download and around 300Kbps speeds for uploads. Running tests with services such as Speedtest.net and others last night with the new 7.2Mbps card saw consistent download speeds of 4.3 to 4.7Mbps achieved, while upload speeds regularly topped 1.3Mbps. Comparing this with a 3.6Mbps-class Next-G device saw speeds of 1.5Mbps download and around 300Kbps up, showing just how much faster the 7.2Mbps-class devices really are. However as will all wireless devices, you mileage will vary depending on your physical location. Telstra are saying that the ‘burst speeds’ are available in “CBD, metro and selected regional and other areas”, but clearly your physical location is important. If you’re closer to a tower you’ll get better speeds, if you’re further away you’ll fall back to 3.6Mbps-class speeds. A second test of the 7.2Mbps Next-G card last night in a second location saw the tests at Speedtest.net deliver around 1.5Mbps to 2.5Mbps download speeds, although upload speeds consistently stayed at around 1 to 1.3Mbps. Existing Next-G customers with firmware upgradeable equipment will hear from Telstra, via email, SMS, snail mail or the Telstra website, advising them that an update is available. The updates will enable up-to 7.2Mbps-class download performance on existing Next-G datacards, but upload speeds on these upgraded devices will remain at a maximum of 384kbps. As for mobile handsets, 7.2Mbps capable mobile phones will come in the future. The new 7.2Mbps-class datacards are made by Sierra Wireless, work with Windows 2000, XP, Vista (32-bit and 64-bit editions) and Mac OS X 10.4, and is actually an ExpressCard 34 device with a PCMCIA adapter so the card works in both ExpressCard and PCMCIA slots. A ‘paddle-pop stick’ external antenna is also included. We tested the card on a Fujitsu Tablet PC running Vista, and used the PCMCIA adapter, with installation running flawlessly. We also tried the card as an ExpressCard 34 in a MacBook Pro, but couldn’t get it to work, although we weren’t trying very hard. The packaging and related materials expressly state Mac OS X 10.4 compatibility so we look forward to making this work very soon. A USB modem version of the Sierra Wireless card is also available for those who prefer using USB devices. Telstra say that more upgrades to Next G are on the way, and say that all of this work provides “the foundation for Super 3G and 4G networks with a roadmap that leads to peak network downlink speeds of “40Mbps by 2009”, and an upgrade of uplinks speeds from the today’s new 1.9Mbps HSUPA speeds to even faster uplink speeds of ‘up-to’ 5.8Mbps within “the next 12 months”. Charges through BigPond for the faster service will be charged at “existing mobile card pricing”, while Telstra Business customers (with an ABN number) with be able to access 1GB of download at $89 per month, while $119 will buy business users a 3GB data allowance – significantly cheaper than the $184.95 (or thereabouts) charged to BigPond users for 3GB of data. We’d love to see data allowances of 5GB and more as standard for users these days – sadly those kinds of data allowances aren’t yet allowed by Telstra, but surely it is only a matter of time. One day, wireless cellular broadband prices will be better than ADSL and Cable pricing, with signs of this from providers such as Unwired, who’ve offered 10GB data allowances (at approx $100 per month) from the start, an iBurst, who offer a 5GB data allowance for $99 per month. Sadly neither of these two wireless broadband pioneers offer coverage over the entire country – if they did, we’d surely see Telstra offering much more competitive pricing. Today’s announcement comes amidst the fight to shut down the CDMA network in 2008 as Telstra desires, while the Federal Government works to keep it open if they decide the Next-G network doesn’t yet match CDMA coverage. There’s also the background of Telstra’s Fibre-to-the-node plans and Labor’s plan to create a nationwide fibre network should it win federal government. What will happen, we don’t know, but at least Telstra aren’t waiting to improve the Next-G network as they are with the ADSL 2+ rollout to telephone exchanges or the Fibre-to-the-Node project. Whoever wins the upcoming election, we can only hope it kickstarts action by Telstra to get ADSL 2+ switched on nationwide, fibre projects moving and even faster Next-G speeds in the future. |
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