Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 28 April 2008 19:23
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
With the threat of competition nipping at Telstra’s heels, Telstra has already pledged to make Next G as great as it can.
Already, Telstra customers can access the wireless broadband Internet at theoretical speeds of up to 7.2Mbps, with real world speeds from 500Kbps to 5Mbps, providing the latest wireless Next G equipment is used.
Although the network is theoretically capable, today, of speeds up to 14.4Mbps, no commercially available equipment yet operates at those speeds.
But Telstra is promising more. While Optus and Vodafone finish rolling out 3.6Mhbps 3.5G networks across Australia by the end of the year, Telstra will have finished upgrading the Next G network to a theoretical maximum of 21Mbps.
By the end of 2009, Telstra is promising this speed will be boosted yet again, this time to 42Mbps.
It is likely that whatever Optus and Vodafone do to likewise improve their networks, Telstra will remain one step ahead.
Already, Telstra has offered data and telemetry services for years to rural and regional customers needing remote monitoring of equipment over the CDMA network, even down to remotely opening gates for livestock to travel through.
But with Next G, today’s additional speed means that more data can be transmitted faster – and video monitoring can be easily enabled.
While this means customers need to spend yet more money on new equipment, the price of progress has never been cheap – or at least, not to begin with.
Faster wireless Internet speeds also mean that educational services for rural and regional children who once used ‘the school of the air’ can be massively improved, giving those students access to the same Internet speeds commonly used by children in the cities.
What can we all do to ensure that Telstra's keeps its promises? Please read onto page 3.
