Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 12 September 2008 08:54
IT Industry -
Strategy
Page 1 of 3
Given Telstra has promised the Next G network will operate at speeds of
“up to” 21Mbps by year’s end, new Next G wireless modems capable of
faster speeds were due, and the first “small, sleek, super-fast USB
modem” has just arrived.
Telstra’s Next G network is today able to operate at speeds of up to 14.4Mbps, with one pretty big catch – no 14.4Mbps-class Next G modems are available, with ‘only’ 7.2Mbps-class devices offering speeds of 500Kbps to around 5Mbps in real-world terms on the market.
While 14.4Mbps-class devices have been promised, Telstra’s Next-G network is being upgraded to operate at speeds of “up to” 21Mbps by the end of 2008, with a whopping 42Mbps promised by the end of 2009.
So faster devices were expected, and the first has arrived, with a tiny catch – it’s still only a 7.2Mbps-class device for download (and 1.9Mbps-class for uploads) in its current incarnation, but a firmware upgrade to support faster speeds is promised.
The USB modem is manufactured by Sierra Wireless, and is called the “Turbo 7+ Series USB Modem”.
Telstra’s Executive Director of Product Management, Ross Fielding, said “The Turbo 7+ Series USB Modem features a small, minimalist design that slips easily into a pocket and provides users with a high-speed connection to Telstra’s Next G network.
“To make the out-of-the-box experience as simple as possible, the device is preloaded with Sierra Wireless Watcher software, which installs directly from the modem when inserted into the USB port for the first time.
“Other user-friendly features include a microSD expansion slot to provide easy data transfer and storage on-the-go, a 1GB microSD card, and an external antenna which we recommend our customers use to optimise the performance of the Next G network,” Mr Fielding said.
No indication is given as to whether or not the microSD card slot will accept larger card sizes, such as the now commonly available 8GB cards, but this is something I’ll test when the USB modem lands in my hot little hands Tuesday next week for a review.
But it is good to see that memory expansion capabilities have been included with the USB modem, giving you a USB flash drive that will always be with you, while the inclusion of an external antenna as standard, instead of being an optional extra, is also to be applauded.
So, what about those faster Next G speeds? Please read on to page 2.
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