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Tag: Telstra

  • Telstra previews “cell on wings” for emergency coverage

    Telstra previews “cell on wings” for emergency coverage

    Telstra has previewed new drone swarm and mobile “cell on wings” technology designed to provide mobile connectivity and search and rescue functionality in natural disasters and other emergency situations.

    The company has developed a mobile small cell mounted on a drone to temporarily boost mobile network coverage in a local area.

    As well as providing critical communications capabilities, the mounted small cell can ensure Telstra’s mobile network is capable of supporting the use of drones in emergency situations.

    The new drone swarm is meanwhile a group of drones flying in formation and controlled by a single pilot, designed to use computer vision to map an area affected by fires or floods.

    It uses computer vision capability to help identify specific objects, such as people in need of rescuing, and assess the overall scale of damage over a large area.

    “In the future, 5G will allow operators using this type of technology to run missions end-to-end with an extensive data uplink capability,” Telstra CTO Håkan Eriksson said in a blog post.

    “This would mean being able to stream large sets of live data (such as high resolution video) back to operators in real time, and back to the server for even more intelligent decision making.”

    Telstra has already been using drones to inspect the damage to its network in the wake of natural disasters and assist with the repair process.

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  • Japan’s TOKAI taps into Telstra’s global network

    Japan’s TOKAI taps into Telstra’s global network

    Japanese fixed line operator TOKAI Communications has contracted Australia-based Telstra to provide connectivity to help pursue an international expansion.

    TOKAI Communications has arranged to use the Telstra Programmable Network (TPN) to access Telstra’s networks.

    The Japanese operator will also to tap into Telstra’s subsea cable infrastructure spanning 230 countries and territories, as well as its Ethernet Private Line services, to directly connect TOKAI’s business locations on point-to-point subsea cables linking Singapore and Tokyo.

    According to the companies, the partnership will give TOKAI Communications the capability to compete in new markets and to connect customers to new overseas opportunities.

    “Telstra developed TPN to empower enterprises to meet the challenges of the future, embrace digital transformation and to quickly respond to changing market and customer demands,” Telstra head of international Oliver Camplin-Warner said.

    “With TPN, employees at TOKAI Communications will operate on a single, integrated and intelligent platform that provides flexible and dynamic access to Telstra’s high bandwidth, low latency and secure networks that allow the enterprise adapt faster to changing demands.”

  • Telstra, Ericsson, Intel claim another 5G first

    Telstra, Ericsson, Intel claim another 5G first

    Australian operator Telstra, Ericsson and Intel announced they have jointly completed the first end-to-end 3GPP non-standalone 5G data call on a commercial network in a multi-vendor setup.

    The trial at Telstra’s 5G Innovation Centre on the Gold Coast used licensed 3.5-GHz spectrum, and Ericsson 5G new radio, baseband and packet core solution, a Telstra SIM and the Intel 5G Mobile Trial Platform.

    The trial involved a network connection to an Ericsson virtualized 5G packet core running on Ericsson’s network functions virtualization infrastructure. The 5G slice was then connected into the existing Telstra mobile network.

    Ericsson and Intel jointly completed the first lab-based end-to-end non-standalone 5G data call earlier this month, and the live demonstration builds on this milestone.

    Demonstrating this 5G data call end-to-end using my own personal SIM card on Telstra’s mobile network is the closest any provider has come to making a ’true’ 5G call in the real world-environment, and marks another 5G first for Telstra,” Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said.

    Previous 5G firsts have included the first 5G data call over 26-GHz spectrum, Australia’s first 5G connected vehicle trial and its first 5G mobile gaming demonstration.

    “We continue to work with global technology companies Ericsson and Intel as well as global standards bodies to advance the deployment of commercial 5G capability in Australia,” Wright concluded.

  • Telstra launches mobile satellite small cell

    Telstra launches mobile satellite small cell

    Australia’s Telstra has launched a new offering providing satellite-based small cell solutions for remote areas, and has signed on the first customer for the service.

    The Mobile Satellite Small Cell product offering is designed to provide most of the benefits of Telstra’s LTE-Advanced services at a lower cost.

    People and organizations in remote areas will be able to use the service to extend coverage in underserved remote areas.

    According to Telstra, the service can support voice, email, messaging and internet browsing but is not intended to support data-heavy applications such as video streaming or calling.

    The operator is targeting the offering at local councils, tourist attractions, agricultural businesses and other organizations seeking to extend coverage where none exists.

    Telstra aims to sell up to 500 satellite small cells over the next three years after having tested the technology for the last 12 months. The first two small cells will be deployed for Queensland’s Winton Shire Council.

    “The Telstra 4GX-lite Mobile Satellite Small Cell is a way to bridge the gap between what customers want and what is financially viable. This solution gives consumers, businesses and local councils more control over where they can get mobile coverage, making them part of the decision making process,” Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said.

    “We’ll continue to look for innovative ways to expand our network across the country so that all Australians can have access to the latest technology and stay connected to the things they love.”

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  • Telstra expands availability on key APAC routes

    Telstra expands availability on key APAC routes

    Australia’s Telstra has expanded its Always On guaranteed connectivity service for enterprises to provide more bandwidth options on the Hong Kong to Singapore and Hong Kong to Japan subsea cable routes.

    The service uses Telstra’s extensive cable network in the Asia-Pacific region to reroute traffic to another path in the event of a cable cut or damage due to a natural disaster.

    The enhancement of the service will reduce latency and add more resiliency to two of Asia’s busiest subsea cable routes.

    According to Telstra director for international Paul Abfalter, Telstra’s subsea cable network is the largest and most diverse in APAC, accounting for up to 30% of active intra-regional capacity.

    “We now have average speeds of 28.8m/s between the Singapore (SGX) and Hong Kong (HKEX) Exchanges, 177.8m/s between the Australian (ASX) and Chicago (CME) Exchanges, 178.2m/s between Equinix/CERMAK (EQCH) in Chicago and the ASX, and 41.9m/s and 13.9m/s respectively between Singapore to Taiwan and Hong Kong to Taiwan,” he said.

    “We were first in the region to develop ‘resilience as a service’ across the busy Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan triangle so customer services are restored within hours for their subscribed bandwidth, using one primary path and two protection paths over different cable systems along the same route.”

    The Always On service guarantee was initially targeted at customers with capacity requirements of between 10GB and 1TB, but with the expansion the company has introduced lower bandwidth options starting at 1GB, Abfalter added.

  • Telstra outage leads to 000 disruption

    Telstra outage leads to 000 disruption

    Australian incumbent operator Telstra has repaired a damaged fiber cable that led to intermittent disruptions to the nation’s 000 emergency call service in half of the nation’s states.

    The operator said a preliminary investigation indicates that the disruption was caused by fire damage consistent with a lightning strike.

    The disruption commenced at around 2am on Friday, and persisted until impacted routers were restored at about 4:50am, after which services progressively returned to normal. The cable was fixed at around 11am.

    While most call traffic was diverted to alternative cable and equipment, an issue occurred with the routing of some traffic which resulted in intermittent disruptions to 000 calls.

    The disruption impacted some callers in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. The Queensland Ambulance Service has identified 11 emergency calls that experienced delays calling through its operations centers as a result of the disruption, while a NSW Ambulance commissioner complained that the operator did not inform it about the outage.

    Other representatives of emergency services departments have stated that it is difficult to ascertain how many emergency calls failed to get through, or if anybody died or was harmed as a result of the outage.

    The damage also reportedly caused disruptions to other telephony services as well as EFTPOS machines and street lighting.

    The federal government has revealed it will conduct a formal investigation into the outage, including the cause of the fire and the failure of Telstra’s contingency plans. The operator may face significant financial penalties as a result of the investigation.

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  • Telstra to launch unlimited mobile data plan

    Telstra to launch unlimited mobile data plan

    Australia’s Telstra will tomorrow launch Australia’s first unlimited smartphone-based mobile data plan, although the “unlimited” plan is subject to a data cap at 40GB.

    The new A$69 ($52) Telstra Endless Data BYO plans also come with unlimited talk, text and MMS to standard domestic numbers as well as unlimited Wi-Fi data at Telstra’s network of Telstra Air hotspots.

    Data will be uncapped up to 40GB, after which speeds will be limited to 1.5Mbps, and lower during peak hours. The plan is also subject to Telstra’s fair use policy, Telstra said.

    Telstra boasts a 4G population coverage of more than 99% with a 3G coverage of 99.4%. The company’s 4G network covers a landmass area of 1.6 million square kilometers.

    To further augment its coverage, Telstra has also announced the launch of a new intelligent antenna solution designed to improve mobile coverage or provide coverage to most places it is unavailable.

    The Telstra Go Repeater is available in a stationary version designed for residential and commercial premises, as well as a portable version designed to improve coverage in a road or sea vehicle.

    It works by receiving mobile signals through an external antenna and then enhancing and re-transmitting this signal to a single indoor or in vehicle antenna. The repeater operates on Telstra’s 3G and 4G networks, including its “4GX” LTE-Advanced network.

  • Telstra launches 5G-powered Wi-Fi hotspots

    Telstra launches 5G-powered Wi-Fi hotspots

    Australia’s Telstra has launched what it says are the first 5G-enabled Wi-Fi hotspots in the world as part of its ongoing evaluation of 5G technology.

    The new hotspots on the Gold Coast in Queensland will provide locals and visitors with access to free broadband services during the evaluation period. The open hotspots will provide up to 10GB of downloads per device per day.

    They will be managed by Telstra’s recently-launched 5G innovation center on the Gold Coast. Telstra has connected 5G backhaul and related infrastructure in the Southport Exchange in the city to allow connections to the 5G network over Wi-Fi on existing devices.

    “Wi-Fi has limited throughput so a single hotspot alone cannot come close to reaching the limits of 5G at our Innovation Center,” Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said.

    “By using multiple hotspots with potentially hundreds of smartphone users served through a single 5G device we are able to get closer to demonstrating 5G in a real world environment. Our 5G backhaul is capable of delivering download speeds of more than 3 Gbps.”

    Telstra is also using its new 5G innovation center to power a connected car trial using the Intel 5G Automotive Trial Platform.

    Wright said the trial is in the very early stages of development but the company is still achieving download speeds approaching 1Gbps inside the car, which is also equipped with a Wi-Fi access point.

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  • Telstra sets speed record with metro network trial

    Telstra sets speed record with metro network trial

    Australia’s Telstra, Ericsson and Ciena say they have achieved the world’s fastest speeds during a demonstration using Telstra’s transmission network in Melbourne.

    The companies achieved 400Gbps speeds over 61.5-GHz spectrum using Telstra’s transmission network, representing the highest spectral efficiency per fiber pair achieved in a live environment.

    This represents transmission speeds of up to 30.4Tbps per fiber pair, a significant improvement from the previous record of 25.6Tbps.

    Such speeds were made possible using software programmable wavelengths controlled by Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai modem technology and Blue Planet manage control plan and Liquid Spectrum applications.

    Telstra plans to introduce the technology as part of an upgrade to its long haul, metro and regional optical networks. Ericsson is providing end-to-end systems integration for the project and managed the deployment of technology for the demonstration.

    Telstra has already deployed Ciena’s industry-first programmable coherent modem, which offers up to three times the data capacity of the earlier modem technology deployed on the Telstra network.

    “Over the next five years we forecast traffic on our network will grow by five times. We are investing in our network and developing these innovations to meet this growing demand by providing unprecedented levels of scale, automation and intelligence,” Telstra director of IP and transport engineering David Robertson said.

    “This technology will be deployed in our domestic transmission network and we will look for opportunities to use it in Telstra’s international subsea cable network, which is the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.”

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  • Telstra to invest in two HK-US cables

    Telstra to invest in two HK-US cables

    Australia’s Telstra has announced plans to invest in two new subsea cable systems connecting Hong Kong to the west coast of the US.

    The company will invest in a half fiber pair on the Hong Kong Americas (HKA) cable and the equivalent of 6TBps over the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN).

    The HKA cable is expected to be ready for service in 2020 and the PLCN to be complete in 2019.

    Once complete, the two cables will be able to act as more direct routes between the US and Asia than Telstra’s part-owned Asia-America Gateway (AAG) cable system, helping to reduce latency and meet increasing demand for connectivity between Greater China, ASEAN and the US.

    “As economic growth continues in China and South East Asia, so too does the demand for data. Together with the current AAG cable on which Telstra carries the most traffic today, these two investments will provide us with increased capacity across the important Hong Kong to US route, one of the fastest growing routes in the world for capacity demand,” Telstra group managing director of global services and international David Burns said.

    “Our investment in capacity on PLCN and HKA will also provide our customers with greater resiliency due to bypassing areas prone to natural disasters and offering two direct, alternative paths to the AAG cable which connects South East Asia to the US west coast via Hong Kong, Guam and Hawaii.”

    Meanwhile fellow Australian operator Vocus Communications has selected the ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) STT Tai Seng 1 data center to act as the point of presence in Singapore for its planned Australia Singapore Cable (ASC) subsea cable system.

    The 4,600km ASC will link Singapore with Perth in Western Australia via Indonesia. It is expected to be completed in the third quarter.

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  • Telstra buys MTData to bolster connected vehicle business

    Telstra buys MTData to bolster connected vehicle business

    Telstra has announced the acquisition of GPS and telematics fleet management solutions provider MTData in a bid which the incumbent says will boost its IoT offerings in the global connected vehicle market.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

    MTData was founded in 2003 and has operations in New Zealand, the US, Canada and the Middle East as well as Australia.

    According to Telstra, MTData provides GPS telematics and fleet management services that assist customers with compliance and safety, improving productivity and reducing operating costs.

    Michelle Bendschneider, executive director of Telstra Enterprise, said the acquisition will provide Telstra with the technical capability and software expertise necessary to help fast track the operator’s enterprise connected vehicle offering as part of its growing business-ready IoT ecosystem.

    “The MTData acquisition provides Telstra with advanced technology and deep domain expertise in connected vehicle solutions,” said Bendschneider.

    “This strategic acquisition will enable us to capitalize on the business ready IoT capability on our network, deliver IoT solutions to our customers in the heavy vehicle industry and supports a natural transition towards future autonomous vehicle technologies.”

    Commenting on the acquisition, Matthew Bellizia, CEO and co-founder of MTData, said, “There are strong synergies with our technology and customer focused cultures and through our integration we will provide customers with access to new and existing technologies like Telstra’s IoT offerings.”

    The acquisition by Telstra will allow MTData to provide connected vehicles, asset tracking and location insights, in the utilities, agriculture and resources industries, Bellizia said.

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  • Telstra adds SD-WAN to Programmable Network

    Telstra adds SD-WAN to Programmable Network

    Australian operator Telstra has expanded the capability of its Telstra Programmable Network service with the introduction of a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) and virtual branch.

    In partnership with VeloCloud, an SD-WAN provider based in the US, Telstra has introduced the ability for businesses to shift their branch network to the cloud. Telstra announced an investment in VeloCloud through its Telstra Ventures subsidiary in March.

    Business customers can achieve the migration by deploying a  single Juniper Networks Universal CPE device on site and using a marketplace of virtual network functions to self-provision bandwidth and required services.

    “Cloud adoption continues to grow and new WAN architectures such as Hybrid and SD-WAN are rapidly evolving. We are unlocking this technology for our customers who depend on having the fastest and most highly available digital experiences possible,” Telstra Global Products executive director Michelle Bendschneider said.

    “Businesses need to constantly adjust in a rapidly evolving technical world, so we really looked at this release from a customer’s perspective with flexibility front of mind. The addition of SD-WAN provides a more intelligent layer to that flexibility, enabling customers to do more with their network as they digitally transform their business and scale and deploy additional applications when and where they need to.”

    She said Telstra plans to offer both VeloCloud SD-WAN as a virtual network function and SD-WAN as a more traditional physical solution in recognition of the fact that there is no one sized fixed all approach to business networks.

    The Telstra Programmable Network is available in over 30 countries in Asia, EMEA and North America.

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  • Telstra wins contract with ASX

    Telstra wins contract with ASX

    Australian operator Telstra has entered into an agreement with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to become the exclusive connectivity partner for the ASX’s international trading services.

    The three year deal will provide ASX 24 Trading Platform customers access to Telstra’s Ethernet private line express (EPLX) solution, which purportedly offers some of the fastest network services on the market today for financial trading companies.

    EPLX provides financial trading companies with a dedicated point-to-point service, which uses the shortest routes available to connect key financial centres to points-of-presence (PoPs) located in financial exchanges in these centres minimising end-to-end transmission delays.

    The EPLX service utilizes Telstra’s extensive subsea cable network.

    This service is backed by Telstra’s low latency service level agreements that help customers mitigate unnecessary risks.

    Brendon Riley, Group Executive Telstra Enterprise, said the agreement extends the connectivity Telstra currently provides the ASX and will directly connect the ASX 24 Trading Platform with the Stock Exchanges in some of the world’s leading financial centres.

    “We currently connect the ASX to our PoPs in the Chicago and Hong Kong financial exchanges. We will now connect to additional points in these cities, as well as to London and Singapore,” he said.

  • Telstra unveils UC service for mobiles

    Telstra unveils UC service for mobiles

    Australian operator Telstra has unveiled its new ‘Liberate’ service which will allow business customers to use their fixed line number and unified communications features on their mobile devices.

    According to GlobalData research, for every fixed line in business, there are 2.4 mobile lines. In addition, employees are also relying on personal devices and consumer technology to communicate. This proliferation of communication channels has implications for employee communications, service quality and customer experience.

    Telstra has responded to this challenge by bringing to market a solution designed to simplify workplace communication and improve employee productivity. Liberate integrates traditional fixed and mobile channels at the network layer, enabling users to present their fixed line number when dialling natively from their mobile device.

    Michelle Bendschneider, Executive Director, Global Products, Telstra Enterprise said, “We know that business customers are increasingly using their mobile phones as a key communication tool for work. Workplaces are moving towards a mobile enabled environment with increased BYOD adding to complexity.”

    “Whether you are a mid-market customer or a large enterprise, with Liberate, employees can answer fixed line calls or messages on the go, and present their fixed line when calling from a mobile device which will significantly improve customer experience and service.”

    As Australia’s largest telecommunications provider, Telstra is working to deliver next generation of Unified Communications technologies to help its enterprise and government customers better respond to market evolution on workplace mobility and improve customer experience.

    “Roughly 72% of businesses with over 500 employees are either implementing or considering workplace transformation. With Telstra’s world-class network and reach, we are best placed to serve our customers’ needs for an integrated fixed and mobile service at the network layer,” said Bendschneider.

    “We are the only company in Australia to offer customers the capability to connect securely, reliably and in more places with two world-class networks natively converged. This means the capability is available directly on the device rather than installed via an over-the-top application.

    “A Liberate trial is already underway with one of our major strategic customers, and we are looking forward to begin implementation with other customers in the months ahead,” said Bendschneider.

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  • Telstra appoints new corporate affairs head

    Telstra appoints new corporate affairs head

    Telstra has promoted Carmel Mulhern to take on the added responsibility of the company’s corporate affairs group, in addition to her existing role as the company’s group general counsel.

    Mulhern will take over the role of group executive of corporate affairs from Tony Warren, who will leave Telstra on September 22 after serving the Australian incumbent for 15 years. Warren will take a newly created position as group general manager for communications and public affairs at ANZ Banking Group.

    In a statement, Telstra CEO Andy Penn said Mulhern is “a natural fit” for the expanded role.

    “Carmel has been at Telstra for 17 years and in that time has shown tremendous leadership protecting Telstra’s reputation and managing risk across our business,” Penn said. “Carmel is well suited to this new role, having a strong knowledge of government, a central role in Telstra’s most sensitive communications for many years, and a keen sense of corporate responsibility.”

    Megaport appoints Tim Hoffman CTO

    Megaport has tapped former Twitter global network head Tim Hoffman as its new chief technology officer.

    Hoffman will join the Australian interconnection services provider on October 1 and report directly to Megaport CEO Vincent English.

    “Tim was integral in leading the development of some of the most critical networks in New Zealand’s telecommunications infrastructure over the previous decade,” English said in a statement.

    “His tenure with Twitter enabled him to design a network that could deliver exponential growth. In the last year, Megaport has experienced record revenue growth of 298%, strong product and service uptake, and has expanded its global footprint.”

    Hoffman joined Twitter in late 2014, leading the global network team and was responsible for worldwide infrastructure, including all interconnection, backbone and content distribution infrastructure, and global data centers.

    Prior to that, Hoffman was a network engineer at CloudFare.

    Christopher Slaughter to step down as CASBAA CEO

    CASBAA said its chief executive Christopher Slaughter will step down from his role, effective December 31, after serving the industry association for five years.

    Slaughter will continue as CEO through the remainder of the year while the company searches for his successor.

    During his tenure as CEO, Slaughter has spearheaded structural reform of the organization, created new events, and delivered on CASBAA’s aim to represent, inform, and connect its membership, said CASBAA chairman Joe Welch.

    Slaughter was appointed CEO of CASBAA in October 2012, and had previously served as convention director in 2004.

    Before joining CASBAA, Slaughter held leadership roles in global and regional production, research, and news organizations, including  APV, The Yankee Group, CNBC, and Asia Business News.

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