Telstra/NetComm home gateway to provide broadband access over NextG

Stuart Corner
Friday, 20 November 2009 08:56

Your IT - Home IT

Hot on the heels of Telstra's 100Mbps upgrade to its Melbourne HFC network come plans from the carrier to deliver broadband connections to homes over its NextG/HSPA+ network.

No details have yet been revealed, except that Telstra, in conjunction with its main Next G router suppler, NetComm, will launch on Tuesday 24 November "a new HSPA+ mobile broadband device that sits at the heart of the digital home." HSPA+ is the HSPA variant that provides downstream bandwidths up to 21Mbps. HSPA covers downstream bandwidths only up to 14Mbps.

Telstra has supplied a number of 3G wireless routers sourced from NetComm, but none of those announced so far support the 21Mbps variant, HSPA+. NetComm, however how has such a product in its portfolio, the 3G21W, previewed in February at the GSM World Congress in Barcelona, and sold this week to Etisalat, the telecommunications provider for the United Arab Emirates along with the 3G10WV embedded 3G router in an order worth about $1.8 million.

According to NetComm, "The revolutionary 3G21W router will be the first of its kind to operate at 21Mbps using the HSPA+ standard, as well as being a fully-functioning 11n wireless router with four ethernet ports." Full details are available on NetComm's web site.

The device comes with 2 x USB 2.0 host ports for print server or storage server), 4 x LAN ports to connect up to four wired devices and an SMA connector for an external 3G antenna. It supports HSPA upstream bandwidth to a max of 5.76Mbps.

NetComm touts the device as being ideal for home or office use, saying it is "Ideal for remote country areas that do not have ADSL/cable" and is "Designed to allow SME and home users to enjoy the freedom of secure, high-speed-Internet connectivity anywhere – anytime."

This 'anywhere-anytime' translates into a rather interesting suggested application: Broadband in the car. "Plug your 3G21W into a DC converted power supply. No more bored kids on long car trips!" NetComm suggests. Pricing is not available. NetComm does not retail its products direct and no Australian distribution has been announced.

The 3G21W has not been identified as the subject of the 24 November announcement. However, NetComm has also sold this product to Telstra. In an FY2010 outlook released to the ASX on 19 November, the company said it had "achieved significant strategic milestones in the period to date, including the arrival of the world's first commercial 21Mbps 3G wireless Internet router, as part of an ongoing supply contract with Telstra, and a contract awarded to the company by United Arab Emirates telecommunications carrier Etisalat."

New 3G/ADSL router from NetComm
Separately NetComm this week released the 3G15Wn (a product that it stresses is not connected with the 24 November announcement from Telstra) a combined 3G/ADSL WiFi modem router that provides automatic failover to 3G if the ADSL connection become inaccessible. On the WiFi side it supports 802.11n. It does not have 3G connectivity inbuilt: this requires the insertion of a 3G USB dongle. When not being used for 3G connectivity, the USB port can be used to connect an external USB hard drive or other storage device such as a flash memory stick or a printer. This storage device or printer will then be accessible to all users who are connected to the 3G15Wn. The 3G15Wn goes on sale on Monday 23 November at RRP of $299.00.