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Tag: Telstra

  • Telstra names Robyn Denholm COO

    Telstra names Robyn Denholm COO

    Telstra has named Robyn Denholm as its new chief operations officer, replacing Kate McKenzie, who retired in July after working with the Australian incumbent for 12 years.

    Denholm will assume her new role in early 2017, and will be based in Sydney. Acting COO Brendon Riley will return as group executive global enterprise and services while acting GES group executive David Burns will return as group MD network applications and services, Telstra said in filing Monday.

    “Robyn has been a senior executive and director in a range of complex technology environments which make her ideally qualified for the role, leading a highly capable team within Telstra,” Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said. “She also brings strong understanding of the Australian market and Telstra as the leading network provider, as Juniper has been a valued partner of Telstra.”

    Australian-born Denholm was most recently EVP, CFO and COO of Juniper Networks. She is a board member of renewable energy and electric vehicle company Tesla Motors and the Swiss robotics, power and automation technology company ABB.

    Denholm served at Juniper Networks from 2007 to mid-2016.  She joined Juniper after 11 years with Sun Microsystems most recently as senior vice president of corporate strategic planning.

    Hutchison Telecom HK appoints Cliff Woo as CEO, replacing Peter Wong

    Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (HTHKH) has appointed Cliff Woo Chiu-man (pictured) as new chief executive and executive director, with effect from January 1, 2017.

    Woo, 62, will succeed Peter Wong King-fai, who will retire from his position on the same day, after working for the company for over 20 years.

    A 30-year telecoms veteran, Woo is currently serving as chief technology officer of Hutchison Asia Telecom Limited and director of Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Limited.

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  • Telstra shuts down 2G network

    Telstra shuts down 2G network

    A customer of Australia’s Telstra was given the honor of switching off Telstra’s 2G GSM network last week.

    The customer, Oly Gordon, became a viral sensation after posting to Telstra’s Facebook page that he was still operating a Nokia 3315 2G phone after 13 years.

    In response, Telstra last week invited him to flick the switch on its 2G network, and presented him with a brand new Google Pixel smartphone.

    Telstra announced in 2014 that it planned to decommission its obsolete 2G network by the end of this year.

    The operator has since been busy migrating the last of its 2G customers on to 3G or 4G networks, and has spent the last few months mailing replacement phones to the final few holdouts.

    Gordon’s viral post came just in time to coincide with Nokia’s announcement that it has closed the transactions required for HMD Global to produce new Nokia-branded smartphones, tablets and feature phones under an exclusive 10-year licensing deal.

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  • Aussie mobile customers’ private data up for sale

    Aussie mobile customers’ private data up for sale

    Private information on Australian mobile subscribers are being sold off by unscrupulous members of offshore call centers, according to an investigative report.

    The private details of customers from the market’s three operators – Optus, Telstra and Vodafone – are being offered for sale by a call center business named AI Solutions, run by Indian businesman Imran Khan.

    Information including home addresses, dates of birth, alternative numbers, billing statements and call history are being offered for between A$350 ($260) and A$1,000, the report states. Prices are higher for VIPs , politicians, police and celebrities.

    Security industry sources spoken to for the report say the practice of call center workers selling off Australian customer details has been long-standing, and potentially involves more than one company.

    In a press statement, a Vodafone Hutchison Australia spokesperson said the company is “aware there are individuals who do attempt to illegally access data through various channels from companies and organisations which hold customer information,” and has “invested millions of dollars over recent years in security systems and processes, and have a number of safeguards in place to prevent unlawful access of customer information.”

    For offshore call centers, security safeguards include paperless offices, a no mobile phone policy, no access to third party websites, email monitoring, role based systems access, continuous agent training and disciplinary process.

    An Optus spokesperson said the company has referred the matter to federal police, and Telstra said the company does everything it can to protect customer data.

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  • Telstra close to launching Gigabit-class LTE

    Telstra close to launching Gigabit-class LTE

    Telstra has worked with Qualcomm, Ericsson and NETGEAR to develop the world’s first Gigabit-class LTE mobile device and Gigabit-class commercially ready LTE network.

    A new NETGEAR mobile router based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X16 LTE modem and Wi-Fi equipment will enable download speeds of up to 1Gbps over Telstra’s upgraded LTE network, which uses equipment supplied by Ericsson.

    Telstra now plans to conduct device, network and user testing ahead of a commercial launch, which is expected within the next few months.

    Combined, the equipment is capable of delivering Gigabit-level LTE speeds through a combination of 3x carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO on two aggregated carriers and 2×2 MIMO on the third, as well as 256-QAM.

    “We pride ourselves on our connectivity expertise and we continue that tradition today by completing the first commercialization of a Gigabit Class LTE network and device,” Telstra group managing director of networks Mike Wright said.

    “With the world’s first Gigabit Class LTE network, we have substantially improved our network capacity and increased real-world LTE download speeds, while also gaining a distinct advantage over competitors as we can now offer an entirely new class of LTE service.”

    Ericsson head of RAN products Per Narvinger added that “Telstra’s commercial ready Gigabit Class LTE network and device is an important milestone as it paves the path to 5G.”

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  • Telstra to launch mobile broadband capability for ESOs

    Telstra to launch mobile broadband capability for ESOs

    Telstra plans to introduce a national public safety mobile broadband capability for emergency services organizations (ESOs) this summer.

    Alex Stefan, Telstra’s national general manager public safety and security, said the technology behind Telstra LANES Emergency allows ESOs to communicate with each other, and it could also provide governments with significant cost savings.

    “Preserving the safety, security, and prosperity of Australian communities is an essential role provided by our emergency services and Telstra is committed to providing innovative solutions and capabilities to support them,” he said in a statement.

    Telstra developed the LANES Emergency solution in collaboration with Ericsson primarily to help ESOs increase their network capability, coverage and reach, without building their own private network but by offering them priority access on Telstra’s LTE network.

    Telstra LANES Emergency will be available in two forms – Telstra LANES Emergency Priority, which will provide access to Telstra’s LTE spectrum; and Telstra LANES Emergency Tailored, which will consist of customer-owned dedicated spectrum and access to Telstra’s LTE spectrum or enhancements to Telstra’s LTE network.

    “Through LANES we can offer Emergency Services priority data access on our 4G network or on a dedicated and partitioned spectrum for their exclusive use. On the wireless highway it is like offering Emergency Services their very own express lane,” explained Stefan.

    A recent report from the Australian Productivity Commission indicated that a commercial public safety solution like LANES has the potential to save ESOs $4 billion over 20 years over the cost of running their own systems, and provides them with access to more easily updated technology and innovations.

    “Telstra will be initially providing access to up to 160MHz of Telstra LTE spectrum, including our 700-MHz band, for use by ESOs under this new offering,” Stefan said.

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  • Telstra conducts Australia’s first live 5G trial

    Telstra conducts Australia’s first live 5G trial

    Australia’s largest operator by subscribers Telstra has teamed up with Ericsson to conduct the nation’s first live 5G trial.

    The trial in Melbourne used a combined 800MHz of spectrum, achieving aggregate speeds of more than 20Gbps in a real-world, outdoor environment.

    Telstra said the trial used 10 times more spectrum than the operator currently uses with its 4G service.

    Ericsson’s 5G radio prototype equipment was used for the demonstration, which also achieved an indicative latency of at least half of that seen in current 4G networks.

    In a blog post,Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said the tests also served to demonstrate the accuracy and improved signal quality of beam steering technology.

    Beam steering involves antenna arrays tracking a user’s location and sending data directly to the device, instead of out in all directions.

    “But what made this trial really significant is we took the test bed out of the laboratory and into real world, outdoor conditions,” he said.

    “Australia’s environment, size, and population density is unique, and it means we need to consider different things to other countries. We’re even trying to understand how radio signals propagate in through gumtrees.”

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  • Telstra expands professional media portfolio

    Telstra expands professional media portfolio

    Telstra has unveiled its new Global Media Network, a professional media contribution solution which enables broadcasters and content developers to take their content global.

    Custom-built for the media industry, the Telstra Global Media Network promises simple and efficient delivery of live and file-based video content by combining Telstra’s world class network of global submarine cables, satellite stations, and broadcast operations into one solution.

    Trevor Boal, head of Telstra Broadcast Services, said that by using the Telstra Global Media Network customers can quickly deliver content across the world – whether it’s a broadcaster wanting to source a time critical sports event or content producers that need to deliver a television program between production facilities.

    “The rapid growth of video on-demand consumption, particularly in Asia, has triggered a surge in demand for content with the number of unique channels estimated to reach nearly 30,000 globally by 2023, a more than 400% increase from 2013,” said Boal.

    “With the Telstra Global Media Network customers can easily book services online and choose the level of support they need from self-service to dedicated 24/7 monitoring provided by our dedicated Broadcast Operations Centers in Sydney and master control rooms in Hong Kong, London, New York and Los Angeles,” added Boal.

    The Global Media Network is built on Telstra’s global infrastructure, which combines its high capacity submarine fiber cable network, with access to four teleports and over 40 satellites covering strategic media hubs across Asia, Europe, the United States and Australia.

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  • Telstra, Ericsson achieve five-carrier LTE aggregation

    Telstra, Ericsson achieve five-carrier LTE aggregation

    Telstra and its technology supplier Ericsson claim to have achieved a world-first with a test that used four separate radio frequency spectrum bands with five carriers for very high long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A) bit rates.

    The trial at an undisclosed location used Telstra’s production network, with a Cobham Aeroflex TM500 4G network testing device as the receiver.

    It used 20 MHz each in the 700 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz ranges, as well as two 20MHz bands in the 2600 MHz frequency range, for a total of 100MHz aggregated bandwidth.

    Five carriers and 100MHz are the maximum under the current LTE-A specification.

    Ericsson utilised high encoding rate 256 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) for the signal to provide better peak data speeds.

    Using the stateless user datagram protocol (UDP), the trial achived 950Mbps downlink speeds.

    With the more commonly used transmission control protocol (TCP), Ericsson and Telstra hit 843Mbps against the Speedtest website, the two telcos said. They declined to reveal the latency of the connection or the distance over the air for the signal.

    Telstra operations managing director of networks Mike Wright said that was “a widely accepted view that 4G should achieve peak speeds in the range of 1Gbps”.

    In reaching such high speeds, Wright said it could be argued that LTE technology was finally moving beyond the 4G barrier.

    “The demonstration of 1Gbps end to end capability shows the advanced state of these standards and our ability to rapidly bring them into commercial service in order to deliver increased capacity in our network to meet growing demand,” he said.

    “In addition to Telstra consumer customers, we are preparing our networks for growth in business use, as well as emerging technologies, which rely on our ability to deliver high capacity and low-latency solutions.”

    There are currently no handsets or devices capable of working with the combined five carrier LTE signal, and Telstra would not say when or whether it is planning on launching commercial services.

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  • Telstra taps drones to improve network repair times

    Telstra taps drones to improve network repair times

    Australia’s Telstra has revealed plans to use drone technology to improve network resilience and disaster readiness during the tropical state of Queensland’s upcoming storm season.

    The operator will use drones as an “eye in the sky” to help technicians inspect local base stations following a storm or cyclone, checking for damage before technicians are deployed on-site for repairs.

    According to Telstra, this will decrease the time needed to conduct repairs following a natural disaster related outage.

    Drones from 3D Robotics fitted with sophisticated cameras and capable of flying up to 120 meters high will be used to look for damage to network assets.

    Telstra previously used a drone to check for damage to mobile infrastructure following bushfires in another state in late 2015.

    “With more than 8,500 mobile network sites around Australia, delivering coverage spanning 2.4 million square kilometers, our mobile network is the largest in the country,” Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said.

    “The maintenance of our network is key to ensuring customers get the best possible service available and using drones is revolutionizing the way we inspect base stations.”

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  • Telstra ramps up mobile offers as streaming go small screen

    Telstra ramps up mobile offers as streaming go small screen

    New research reveals mobile video streaming is growing at more than 30% a year and on-demand TV, sports and music is changing when and where Australians watch their favorite entertainment, according to Telstra.

    To help customers make the most of the mobile streaming revolution, Telstra has included a three-month subscription to all three leading streaming video providers Netflix, Stan and Presto on selected mobile plans.

    Also, Telstra mobile plan customers can now enjoy Apple Music with data-free music streaming which means listening to all your favorite songs, albums and playlists without tapping into their data allowance.

    Further, Telstra launched a new app that makes it easy to discover all the sports and entertainment content included in Telstra mobile plans.

    “Telstra mobile customers can now get Netflix, Stan and Presto, unmetered Apple Music and free access to live NRL or AFL, Netball and Basketball, providing an unmatched mobile entertainment experience,” said Michele Garra, Telstra’s executive director for media.

    She said Australians have embraced streaming video services like Netflix in their lounge rooms and that appetite is now seen translated to phones and tablets outside the home.

    “Network traffic surges during the morning and afternoon commute, suggesting two new prime-time periods are emerging, as people discover how easy it to continue watching their favorite shows on the go,” said Garra.

    Garra said to make it easier for customers to discover the full range of entertainment options available to them as part of their plan Telstra is introducing the Telstra TV+ app for mobiles.

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  • Ooyala unveils turnkey OTT solution

    Ooyala unveils turnkey OTT solution

    Telstra unit Ooyala has introduced Ooyala AppStudio, its new turnkey over-the-top (OTT) solution for video providers to cost-effectively build and deploy comprehensive OTT app- and web-based video entertainment experiences.

    According to a report by DTVR, OTT services are booming globally as consumers flock to connected devices for content; creating a market opportunity of nearly $65 billion over the next five years.

    Using Ooyala AppStudio, broadcasters, publishers and media companies can quickly launch, manage and monetize new OTT offerings.

    The new turnkey solution promises to mitigate the expensive custom development and integration costs typically associated with OTT market entry.

    An out-of-the-box solution, it promises to ensure customers can deploy premium OTT experiences on time and on budget, with a simple, easy-to-use interface.

    As such, it does not require highly technical staff to build or manage services. Content providers can automate the build of OTT apps directly within the Ooyala AppStudio console for any device, supporting apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast as well as on iOS, Android and the web. No engineering is required, drastically reducing time-to-market as well as development and personnel-associated costs.

    Ooyala will demonstrate Ooyala AppStudio at the 2016 International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam, September 8 through September 13.

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  • Telstra to invest $2.3b to improve the customer experience

    Telstra to invest $2.3b to improve the customer experience

    Australia’s Telstra has revealed plans to invest up to A$3 billion ($2.3 billion) over the next few years on improving the customer experience following a wave of recent network outages.

    The operator has revealed plans to increase its capex to sales ratio to 18%, the highest since the operator was building its 3G network in the 2008-09 financial year.

    Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said the investments include plans for consumers, SMBs, domestic and international enterprise users, governments and wholesale customers, as well as both fixed and mobile networks.

    Short term actions to address frequent customer complaints will be followed by more significant and longer term investments aimed at digitising to improve the customer experience and reducing costs.

    “There are a number of immediate actions that we believe will improve customer experiences. We will simplify products and platforms – we need to retire old technology and systems that slow down and complicate how customers are served,” Penn said.

    He said investments will be aimed at evolving the network with new technologies including virtualization and increased automation. The company aims to develop a flexible, software-defined network architecture.

    The move comes as Telstra seeks to win back customers following a series of hardware-related network outages that were heavily reported in Australian media.

    Telstra had already committed A$50 million towards installing new monitoring equipment and improving the capacity of its mobile network to handle large volumes of simultaneous re-registrations.

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  • Telstra acquires MSC Mobility

    Telstra acquires MSC Mobility

    Telstra has acquired local enterprise mobility solutions provider and decade-long channel partner MSC Mobility (MSC), in a move to bolster its enterprise mobility offerings.

    MSC provides mobile device management and provisioning services for large organizations, including providing devices and support to end users, and professional services, including strategy consulting and mobility solutions design.

    The company’s core capability is its enterprise mobility management platform, which incorporates mobile device management software such as Airwatch and MobileIron.

    The platform has already been rolled out and delivered device management services for “a large number of the telco’s enterprise customers”, Telstra said in a statement.

    Telstra did not disclose the value of the deal. The acquisition, which will be completed within coming weeks, will enable Telstra to manage the end-to-end enterprise mobility lifecycle, including valuable reporting and analytics that help customers drive better business outcomes, the telco noted.

    Telstra executive director of global products Michelle Bendschneider said that the deal is a key step in the incumbent’s focus on enterprise mobility, which has been prioritized as a fundamental part of Telstra’s growth strategy.

    “This acquisition is an investment capturing the fastest growing segment of the enterprise mobility market: managing the supply of apps, content and mobile services to enterprises,” the executive said.

    “To achieve our growth aspirations in enterprise mobility, we need to develop our customer relationships from a holistic mobility view, rather than just what sits on their device or tablet.”

    Bendschneider added that MSC’s established processes and platform can be expanded to host and support the service in Asia, Europe and the US.

    The acquisition of MSC is Telstra’s latest buy in weeks, after it acquired Microsoft partner Readify earlier this month to boost its cloud offerings for enterprises.

    In February, Telstra also made a strategic investment in Chinese cloud storage service provider, Qiniu, through its investment arm, Telstra Ventures, a month after it acquired another Microsoft partner, Kloud.

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  • Telstra sells most of its stake in China’s Autohome

    Telstra sells most of its stake in China’s Autohome

    Australian operator Telstra has sold the most of its majority stake in Chinese online car sales business Autohome to Ping An Insurance Group for $1.6 billion.

    Andrew Penn, Telstra CEO, said proceeds from the sale of a 47.4% stake in Autohome will be used to fund a capital management program that will start in the first half of the 2017 financial year.

    After the sale is completed, Telstra will retain a 6.5% interest in the company and will have one nominee director on the board.

    “Ping An will be an important strategic partner for Autohome. Its nationwide footprint in China and experience and expertise in auto financing, insurance and e-commerce mean Ping An is well placed to help Autohome develop outside of its traditional focus on online advertising,” Penn said in a statement.

    Autohome is an online destination for automobile consumers in China. It has a comprehensive automobile library and automobile listing information, as well as an advertising platform for automakers and dealers.

    In the first quarter 2016, the company reported a significant expansion of its transaction platform with a total of 4,957 new vehicles sold through its B2C transaction platform.

    Average daily unique visitors who accessed its mobile websites and mobile applications has also grown to 8.8 million and 7.2 million, respectively.

    Leng Peidong, President of Ping An Trust, said that with Ping An’s nearly 300 million online users, 150 million financial customers, longstanding relationships with car manufacturers and distributors, and a nationwide offline service network, it will be in a better position to transform Autohome into a full auto transaction service platform.

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  • Telstra to address rural 4G black spots

    Telstra to address rural 4G black spots

    Australia’s Telstra has revealed plans to roll out 135 small cell 4G base stations in remote communities across the nation as part of the government’s Mobile Black Spot program.

    The operator is also making the investment as part its efforts to expand its 4G footprint to 99% of the Australian population by June next year.

    Telstra has made an A$165 million ($123.1 million) commitment to improve coverage in regional Australia, and will already expand 3G and 4G coverage to 429 other remote communities as part of round one of the black spot program. But the latest small cell roll out will be solely funded by Telstra.

    “When we made our bid under Round One, our core objective was to maximise new coverage to regional communities, which is why we made this additional pledge to further expand mobile data services at our own expense,” Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright said.

    “We worked closely with the Federal Government to identify the communities who were eligible for this small cell technology and we are proud to be part of this important initiative which will connect so many more regional communities.”

    While the small cell technology can currently only provide data services, Telstra said it is working on implementing VoLTE technology over the base stations.

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