Telstra has launched a Gigabit LTE service in select state capital city CBDs, with more to follow. The Gigabit LTE NETGEAR device, Nighthawk M1, will first be made available to consumers in Australia in late February, 2017.
The newly-launched Gigabit LTE service will deliver extremely fast access to consumers’ favorite content, and even faster access to enterprise applications and business-critical data. Gigabit performance will improve access to high-quality video streaming, and facilitate emerging mobile virtual reality applications and experiences, and is a key step towards 5G.
In addition to Gigabit LTE speeds on the downlink, Telstra’s new network capability also delivers up to double the previous uplink speeds, meaning uploading content to social media, the cloud or business applications will be much faster.
Gigabit LTE is enabled by LTE Advanced features including 4x4 MIMO, 3CA (Three Carrier Aggregation) and higher order modulation (256QAM). On the uplink, Telstra’s new network capability uses 64QAM and 2CA (Two Carrier Aggregation) for a peak upload speed of up to 150Mbps. These new features and capabilities are all important steps as Telstra evolves its network towards 5G. Gigabit LTE is not only about high peak speeds but also delivers more network capacity which benefits all users.
In addition, the utilization of 4x4 MIMO within the new NETGEAR Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router (MR1100) Gigabit device, equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 LTE modem, allows 4-way receive diversity. The 4-way receive diversity capability works to support improved data throughput throughout all areas of the LTE network including both the Gigabit enabled areas and as well as the other remaining LTE network areas.
Mike Wright, Group Managing Director, Networks, Telstra says: “As the roll out of Gigabit LTE continues, our customers with a Gigabit capable device can enjoy a faster mobile experience for both downloads and uploads. As our customers continue to use increasing amounts of data for entertainment and business use, Telstra’s continuous innovation ensures our network is ready to deliver the country’s best mobile experience. “Gigabit LTE is also an important step on our journey to 5G and demonstrates Telstra’s commitment to delivering Australians a world class network now and into the future. We are well placed to evolve our 4G network and are putting the building blocks in place for Australia to be ready for 5G this will deliver more bandwidth and lower latencies which are critical for emerging applications such as downloading 4K video, IoT, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality and shared virtual reality,” said Wright.
