Telstra goes 100Mbps on cable; trials set top box

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 19 November 2009 09:47

Your IT - Home IT

Telstra has upgraded its Melbourne HFC network to provide 100Mbps download capability. The carrier is also introducing its own set-top box for free-to-air and BigPond TV channels.

Telstra announced today that the 100Mbps upgrade of its Melbourne HFC network has been completed ahead of schedule, and the higher speed will be available to customers from December 1.

The announcement follows comments yesterday from both David Thodey and AAPT CEO Paul Broad that spending large sums of money on fibre for the NBN was unnecessary.

Pricing details have yet to be revealed, but Telstra group managing director of product management Holly Kramer said she was confident the service would be "affordable".

The telco is initially positioning the higher-speed service as being ideal for households with multiple computers. Group managing director Telstra networks and services Michael Rocca emphasised that 100Mbps was the "download capability" of the enhanced network, and that actual speeds would be limited by the equipment at each end of the link.

Most sites are optimised for lower network speeds, he warned, but on the other hand it is possible to see aggregate speeds peaking in excess of 100Mbps.

A demonstration using a specially configured server showed the simultaneous download of two movies and a game. Progressive movie downloading means playback can begin within a few seconds.

More on the 100Mbps upgrade on page 2.