Next G
Encyclopedia
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
mobile telecommunication network
Telecommunications network
A telecommunications network is a collection of terminals, links and nodes which connect together to enable telecommunication between users of the terminals. Networks may use circuit switching or message switching. Each terminal in the network must have a unique address so messages or connections...
operated by Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
in Australia.
Background
After a review, Telstra announced a plan to upgrade its ageing networks and systems; which includes a new 3G network to replace the then current CDMA mobile network.Construction
The network was built between November 2005 and September 2006, and launched in October 2006. Next G was the largest mobile network in Australia, providing larger coverage than other 3G providers in Australia and over three times larger than any 2G provider in Australia. the Next G Network was also the fastest mobile network in the World, delivering theoretical network speeds of up to 21Mbit/s utilising features of HSPA+ and Dual-Carrier HSPA. Telstra has since increased the speed up to 42Mbit/s in the first half of 2010 and plans to double it again to 84Mbit/s in mid-2011.The network is used for BigPond
BigPond
BigPond is an Australian Internet service provider and is a product of Telstra. BigPond is Australia's largest ISP and based in Melbourne.- Internet :...
's wireless broadband service and Telstra Mobile, which is Australia's largest mobile telephone service provider, in terms of both subscriptions and coverage
Network design
It was built to replace Telstra's CDMAIS-95
Interim Standard 95 is the first CDMA-based digital cellular standard by Qualcomm. The brand name for IS-95 is cdmaOne. IS-95 is also known as TIA-EIA-95....
network which operated from 1999 until 28 April 2008. Telstra opted to use the 850 MHz band for Next G in preference to the more common 2100 MHz band, since it requires fewer base stations to provide coverage, providing a lower capital cost. This network was implemented under contract by Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
as part of a project internally dubbed "Jersey" and launched on 6 October 2006. HSPA technology was included in the network to provide Australia's first wide area wireless broadband network. The efficiency of the Next G network and its coverage has been challenged and scrutinised since its launch, requiring Telstra to go back to areas with average coverage, particularly rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
towns to improve its coverage footprint. On 18 January 2008 Stephen Conroy, Minister for Communications, declined the proposal for Telstra to switch off its CDMA network on 28 January 2008, stating that whilst the Next G network provided coverage equal to or better than the CDMA network, the range of handsets available was not yet satisfactory. On 15 April 2008 the Minister gave approval to close the CDMA network after 28 April 2008. Telstra closed the network nationally during the early morning hours of 29 April 2008.
While most wireless modems offered by Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
allow peak download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbit/s, a modem by Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless is a wireless communications equipment designer and manufacturer, founded in 1993 and currently headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada....
was announced in 2009 that supported increased throughput. The "USB 306" is marketed and sold by Telstra as the "Telstra Turbo 21 Modem", and was available in limited quantity in early 2009. By April the "Turbo 21" was available to customers and offered peak download speeds of 21 Mbits/s, although actual speeds vary between 550Kbit/s and 8Mbits/s. Next G network HSUPA upgrades in selected regional and metropolitan areas, combined with software updates for the "Turbo 21" modem, will allow peak uplink speeds of up to 5.76 Mbit/s.