Telstra said its new offering will allow customers in remote areas to have access to mobile coverage
Australian telco Telstra has launched a new small cell offering targeting remote areas in the country.
The new solution, dubbed the Telstra 4GX-lite mobile satellite small cell, will allow people living in remote areas of Australia to have access to mobile coverage.
The telco also announced the first customer for this small cell solution. Queensland’s Winton Shire Council said it will install two satellite small cells to improve coverage at a tourism hotspot and a remote town.
The Telstra 4GX-lite mobile satellite small cell is a smaller version of a standard mobile base station, which will allow customers to have access to Telstra’s 4GX-lite service which includes voice calls, text, email, browsing and basic data.
“We want all Australians to have the opportunity to connect to our mobile network so they can embrace the benefits mobile coverage brings. We know this is a particular frustration for many businesses and communities in regional areas who want to use the innovative technology on offer to grow their businesses or connect their people,” said Mike Wright, managing director of Telstra’s networks unit. “The satellite small cell was an exciting new option for communities and businesses looking to get access to mobile coverage and overcome the challenges of providing mobile coverage to very remote locations.”
“We offer options, such as Yagi antennas and the Telstra Go Repeater, for customers in regional areas looking to extend coverage, but until now there hasn’t been many options for people looking for coverage where none exists nearby. The satellite smart cell helps solve that problem,” Wright added.
Wright also said that Telstra has been running satellite cells for many years and has conducted several trials of this solution over the last 12 months at five sites. The executive added that the company will have a total of 16 Telstra trial sites on air by July.
Telstra aims to deliver up to 500 satellite small cells over the next three years, and is discussing the opportunity to deploy this technology with a number of organizations and customers.
“We’ll be using the satellite small cell to bring coverage to some parts of the Winton shire for the first time and to help grow tourism in the area,” said Gavin Baskett, Winston Shire council mayor. “We’re a remote area, driven by rural industry and tourism – all industries where mobile coverage can provide so much in terms of innovation, connectivity and safety. We look forward to getting our two satellite small cells installed and operational so we can connect our people.”
In April, Telstra announced plans to rollout small cells across the country in a move to boost capacity and speed in some of the country’s busiest locations. The telco has already installed more than 50 4G small cells across the city of Melbourne as the first stage of a national small cell roll-out initiative.
Telstra’s small cell program stipulates the deployment of 1,000 small cells in metro and regional locations within the next three years. Some of these areas include Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
The operator said that each 4G small cell deployment utilizes existing mobile infrastructure at locations such as information hubs and street light and electricity poles.
