Telstra has achieved mobile download speeds of 100 Mbps over a distance of 75 Kilometers in testing of LTE 4G wireless in regional Victoria with Nokia Siemens Networks.
Telstra has been testing LTE 4G mobile technology in regional areas with Nokia Siemens Networks to determine the limitations that physical distance imposes on LTE network speeds before planning to roll out an LTE 4G network in the coming years.
Michael Rocca, Chief Operations Officer, said the range testing is of critical importance for the future of this technology in regional Australia and Telstra’s learnings will be of great interest internationally.
“Australia has the sixth largest landmass with the ninth lowest population density in the world so any technology we introduce has to travel long distances, cover large areas and still perform to the levels Telstra customers have come to enjoy.
“Telstra’s Next G network does this extremely well today and we want to ensure that when we bring LTE technology to Australian consumers, our customer experience remains one of the best in the world,” Mr Rocca said.
Telstra’s LTE 4G extended range field trial was conducted between Mount Hope and Mount Burrumboot in central Victoria by engineers from Telstra and Nokia Siemens Networks. The trial used Nokia Siemens Networks’ commercially-available LTE-ready Flexi Multiradio Base Station and Evolved Packet Core (EPC), with pre-commercial LTE 4G USB dongles from third-party vendors.
Kalevi Kostiainen, head of Nokia Siemens Networks, Australia and New Zealand believes the result demonstrates the potential for LTE 4G technology in Australia.
“The outstanding results of this trial were made possible through close collaboration between Telstra and Nokia Siemens Networks. The benefits of LTE in urban environments are currently being deployed globally, having already been extensively tested and the business benefits well understood. Through this unique joint trial we can now see how LTE can be extended to provide cost effective solutions for rural and remote environments.” Mr Kostiainen said.
“Nokia Siemens Networks is a leader in the development and deployment of LTE/SAE technology and this demonstration of capacity and capability with Telstra further reinforces our leadership position,” Mr Kostiainen added.
