Telstra | August 8, 2011 | Press Release
Businesses in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane will be the first to experience 4G/LTE mobile broadband after Telstra announced it would commence selling Australia’s first commercial LTE device later this month.
Telstra switched on its first 4G base stations, using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, in May.
Telstra’s CEO, David Thodey, announced today around 2000 Telstra USB 4G mobile broadband modems would be made available to business and enterprise customers from August 29 ahead of the national launch of 4G services later this year.
“Telstra’s 4G-enabled network is the next generation in mobile broadband and is set to offer Australians an even faster mobile connection,” Mr Thodey said.
“The commercial pilot will give some of our customers a taste of the faster speeds, greater capacity and quicker response times that can be available for mobile services on 4G ahead of our national launch in major capital cities and selected regional centres later this year.
“Australian businesses already tell us they want fast, reliable mobile broadband with more than two million customers connecting to our network for internet on the go [1]. Our investment in next-generation 4G mobile technology will help meet Australia’s growing demand for faster speeds and create additional capacity in our network.”
Telstra’s first 4G product, the Telstra 4G USB, will use dual mode 4G/3G HSPA technology enabling it to operate across the 1800MHz and 850MHz spectrum bands, giving customers the benefits of 4G connectivity where it is available and switchover to high-speed HSPA technology across the Telstra Mobile Network which reaches 99 per cent of the Australian population.
The Telstra USB 4G will be available initially to account managed business customers. It can be purchased in conjunction with a range of plans including for $0 upfront on the $49 Telstra Mobile Broadband Standard Plan over 24 months (minimum total cost $1,176) with 7GB included data. It will be available from 29 August through Telstra Business and Telstra Enterprise & Government account managers.
Telstra is taking expressions of interest from customers who would like to be among the first to receive information about the national launch of Telstra’s 4G service in Australia. Customers can visit www.telstra.com/4G.
* 4G/LTE coverage will be available initially within 5km from the GPO in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. Speeds vary due to factors such as distance from base station, local conditions, user numbers, hardware and software configuration.
[1] Telstra had more than 2.3 million mobile broadband SIOs at the end of March 2011.