Announcements
The information on this screen is no longer current and is provided for educative and historical purposes only. Please refer to the disclaimer.
Telstra turbocharges the laptop, boosting mobile broadband in Australia to as fast as anything on Earth
Telstra today cranked up the speed of mobile broadband services in Australia with the launch of new broadband cards for office and home laptops that are as fast as any on Earth.
The turbocharged laptop cards, to be marketed as Telstra Mobile Turbocards and BigPond Wireless Broadband 7.2 cards, deliver download speeds bursting up to 6 Mbps and, for the first time, also boast super fast upload speeds bursting up to 1.3 Mbps.
Most existing Next G™ data cards will be upgradeable to the new download speed, and speeds will soon be increased on Next G™ mobile handsets.
The announcement came at the same time as Telstra upgraded Next G™ coverage in iconic Australian locations - including Cradle Mountain, Marble Bar and onboard The Spirit of Tasmania that connects Victoria to Tasmania across the Bass Strait.
Telstra Business Group Managing Director, Ms Deena Shiff, said the new turbo cards provided extra speed, flexibility and productivity for businesses to operate seamlessly anywhere there is Next G™ mobile coverage - 98.8% of the Australian population.
"Whether you are in Australia's hottest town, Marble Bar, in Western Australia, holidaying in Cradle Mountain or working from home, you can enjoy the best mobile speeds available in the world right here in Australia," Ms Shiff said. "Australia's largest and fastest national mobile broadband network just got faster for businesses and consumers who use the laptop turbo card to make connections - to each other in Australia or to the rest of the world."
The new turbocharged laptop cards provide typical download speeds averaging 550 kbps to 3 Mbps, offering a maximum download burst speed of 6 Mbps - more than 50 times as fast as a dial up internet connection. The new upload speeds average 300 kbps to 1 Mbps and burst up to 1.3 Mbps, compared with current maximum speeds of 384 kbps.
Telstra BigPond Group Managing Director, Mr Justin Milne, said the new wireless broadband cards allowed consumers to find more speed in more places.
"Today there is now very little to distinguish between the speed of a wireless and a wired broadband service, but with wireless you have all the benefits of mobility," Mr Milne said. "Download a song from BigPond Music, or upload photos or video to your BigBlog in just a few seconds, stream footy highlights or music videos, or just email your friends while you are on the road on holiday or business."
Telstra Product Management Group Managing Director, Ms Holly Kramer, said free 7.2 upgrades of existing Next G™ Turbo and Next G™ BigPond Wireless devices from Sierra Wireless, Maxon and ZTE, would also be available.
"Most existing Next G™ data card users can take advantage of the new, faster download speeds with an easy upgrade over the internet. The device upgrade will be available through either Telstra Business or BigPond," Ms Kramer said.
The Sierra Wireless devices are available in both ExpressCard and USB form, known as the AirCard® 880E and the AirCard 880U, respectively. Both devices support the higher download and upload speeds and come packaged with a directly coupled external antenna that can be used to enhance performance even further. Sierra Wireless is a global leader in wireless data technology development.
The turbo card devices are compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP and support Microsoft Vista. The devices also support Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
The Next G™ high-speed wireless broadband network was launched almost a year ago to replace Telstra's ageing CDMA technology and brings with it a series of handheld and laptop-centred mobile broadband devices that meet the mobility, flexibility, speed, and other communication needs of Australians.
Telstra Disclaimer:
As with any mobile network, coverage on the Next G™ network depends on where a person is, what particular handset that person is using and whether that handset has an external antenna attached.
Reference Number: 219/2007
