Next G Gateway ups upload speeds

Stephen Withers
Monday, 13 July 2009 10:18

Your IT - Home IT

An updated Next G wireless gateway from Telstra and NetComm is said to offer three times faster uploads than its predecessor.

Billed as a mobile office in a box, the Telstra Turbo 7 Wireless Gateway combines an 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Ethernet router with a 3G connectivity.

The device includes a phone port so that a regular handset can be connected to make voice calls over 3G, and a USB 2.0 port for sharing printers or storage devices.

In areas where Next G provides high-speed uplink (capital, metropolitan and certain regional centres), the Gateway is said to deliver typical upload speeds of 300kbps to 3Mbps. Elsewhere, 300Kbps to 1Mbps is typical.

The device is intended to provide easy connectivity for mobile or temporary installations, including exhibitions, outdoor events and construction sites, as well as a way of maintaining communications if fixed-line services are unavailable.

"The Telstra Turbo 7 Wireless Gateway equips businesses to take their own network and IT tools with them on customer visits, to events or when they need to set up temporary work sites," said Telstra product management executive director Ross Fielding.

"The Gateway can establish a 3G-powered local network in minutes allowing workers to share files, access the net, make fixed phone calls over the Telstra Next G network and access corporate databases or SaaS applications at mobile broadband speeds," he added.

The device was developed exclusively for Telstra by NetComm. An operating temperature range of 0-50C accommodates most Australian locations.

The $A589 Turbo 7 Wireless Gateway will be available from July 14. It is also offered at $A149 upfront on a 24 month contract.