Stuart Corner
Sunday, 19 August 2007 16:27
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 11 August that Telstra was planning to use the Next G network to deliver a wireless local loop (WLL) service (a fixed service) to remote subscribers. No surprises here. Telstra has long used wireless to service hard to reach subscribers many kilometres from the nearest exchange. According to the SMH article there are 1000 in NSW served by the CDMA network: they will need some alternative when that shuts down.
Before CDMA WLL there was the Digital Radio Concentrator Service and before that, analogue radio. My sources tell me that the technology Telstra plans to use for its Next G based service is
from Ericsson and it's called a W25 .You can buy one today for around $1100 from
Powertec of Queensland.
Powertec been selling a similar box for use on the GSM network for years. End users buy them if they need a fixed phone service and Internet access in a hurry or for a short time in a location that does not have a fixed phone line. And the W25 has an optional, roof-mountable directional antenna to boost throughput in marginal coverage areas.
The W25 is very similar technology to that
Virgin Mobile is using for its new service that offers a fixed phone line and broadband Internet access for $60 per month.
But here's were it gets really interesting. Suppose Telstra is planning to launch not simply a WILL service for otherwise inaccessible subscriber but a service very similar to that offered by Virgin Mobile - and if Virgin Mobile can do this for $60 per month I would expect Telstra to be able to do the same, notwithstanding the high prices it presently charges for Next G data.
Telstra however would not offer this service in the big cities to compete with Virgin Mobile but out in the bush to people as an alternative to ADSL services.
