The future of wireless is Down Under
Alan Parkington
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/30/technology/mehta_telstra.fortune/?postversion=2008123010
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Move over, Korea and Japan. Australia may soon be the
envy of the world when it comes to advanced wireless networks and services.
Telstra, the former state-owned phone company, has spent the last three
years building out a so-called "Next G" network, which currently boasts
download speeds of more than 14 megabits per second. The network is, at its
peak, about seven times faster than top speeds frequently reported by users
of wireless modems on U.S. third generation, or 3G, networks.
As a result, average Australian consumers are able to avail themselves of
the high-bandwidth wireless services - streaming wireless video or video
chat on cell phones, say - most commonly associated with Japan and Korea,
two countries that traditionally have been on the cutting edge of wireless
services.
But what's really exciting about Telstra's network is that it is starting to
spark innovation among entrepreneurs, engineers and software developers -
much the way the Internet ushered in new business models.
"I would say true high-speed, near-ubiquitous wireless broadband is a game
changer," said Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo. "It is a game changer for Telstra,
and it is a game changer for an industry and for an economy."
Momentum, a software development company based in Melbourne, is using
Telstra's high-speed network to stream live video from handheld devices or
to other locations, say, a police station or hospital.
Adele Whish-Wilson, CEO of Momentum, says her company counts on ubiquitous
wireless coverage - emergency workers sometimes get dispatched to rural
areas that simply aren't served by Wi-Fi or Wi-Max networks, the wireless
broadband standards often cited as alternatives to upgrading traditional
wireless networks.
Whish-Wilson says Telstra's network has the potential to turn her home
country into a technology center. "It is allowing Australian companies to
build world-class technology because we have the infrastructure," she said.
Indeed, upstarts in Australia are using wireless broadband networks to
provide physicians with remote, rapid feedback on radiology scans or to help
mining companies monitor their far-flung sites for environmental and safety
hazards.
A warning to laggards
Telstra's broadband push was born of necessity. Trujillo, who had been CEO
of U.S. West and France's Orange before becoming CEO of Telstra in 2005,
says the Australian company was losing market share when he arrived.
Trujillo engineered a major shakeup of the company, bringing in new
management, tussling with regulators and aggressively cutting costs, drawing
criticism in the Australian press.
But his boldest move was upgrading the wireless network in a bid to increase
revenue. Trujillo wagered that if provided with an ultrafast data network
Australian consumers would pay a premium to watch videos and send multimedia
text messages on their wireless devices, instead of just making calls.
Telstra says it invested about 1.1 billion Australian dollars ($765 million
U.S.) in building its Next G network, which launched more than two years
ago, and has since spent "hundreds of millions" more expanding its coverage.
Next year the company plans to unveil to consumers an upgrade that will
increase peak download speeds to 21 megabits per second.
Telstra's bet is starting to pay off. Average data revenue per user, a key
metric for measuring the success of the data strategy, has more than doubled
in the last two years. Overall, Telstra's revenues in fiscal 2008 rose 5%,
to about $17 billion in U.S. dollars.
While Telstra's high-speed network may prove to be a boon for Australia's
burgeoning tech scene, Trujillo argues that every major country will need to
build out truly broadband wireless systems to remain competitive in the
global economy.
In the United States, carriers eventually plan to migrate to fourth
generation, or 4G, networks that could provide network download speeds of up
to 50 megabits per second. Sprint (S, Fortune 500) has launched an early
version of 4G service in Baltimore that serves up download speeds of two to
five megabits per second, using the WiMax standard; other wireless companies
like AT&T (T, Fortune 500) and Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) seem to prefer a
standard called LTE - short for Long Term Evolution. But based on the
telcos' public statements, ubiquitous 4G coverage is several years away.
Trujillo warns that countries risk paying a hefty price if they don't invest
in their wireless infrastructure. "We are leading the world, not Korea, not
Japan, and that's exciting," Trujillo said. "But if you don't have a
high-speed wireless platform you're not going to be as competitive" in terms
of productivity gains.
Trujillo likens the productivity gains from high-speed wireless to the
advancements businesses and consumers saw first from the rise of personal
computers, then from software, and later from the Internet. "I believe the
next wave of gains is coming," he said, "and it is going to be driven by
wireless broadband."
Frank Slootweg
Telstra's NextG network, but *that* - *size and coverage* - is IMO the
special thing, i.e. in such a large and mostly sparsly populated
country.
The *top* speeds may be high, but why compare them only to Korea and
Japan (and the US)? (For example for our country, it's only a factor of
four instead of seven faster.)
And with a quarter of the speed, we have no problems with "the
high-bandwidth wireless services - streaming wireless video or video
chat on cell phones", thank you very much.
It's all great to talk about bleeding edge technology and high speeds,
but what counts first of all, are *coverage* and *reliabilty* (i.e. no
drop-outs), especially when moving (i.e. walking, driving, public
transport, etc.).
I guess on my next trip to/in Oz, I will experience what NextG is
*really* about.
Rod Speed
> Not to downplay the capabilities and especially size and coverage of
> Telstra's NextG network, but *that* - *size and coverage* - is IMO the
> special thing, i.e. in such a large and mostly sparsly populated country.
The reality is that the absolute vast bulk of the country is similar densitys
to the US and Canada, due to the big concentration of population in the band
along the coast from Townville etc thru to Adelaide and well in from the coast.
> The *top* speeds may be high, but why compare them only
> to Korea and Japan (and the US)? (For example for our
> country, it's only a factor of four instead of seven faster.)
Because thats all NextG has going for it.
> And with a quarter of the speed, we have no problems with
> "the high-bandwidth wireless services - streaming wireless
> video or video chat on cell phones", thank you very much.
> It's all great to talk about bleeding edge technology and
> high speeds, but what counts first of all, are *coverage*
> and *reliabilty* (i.e. no drop-outs), especially when
> moving (i.e. walking, driving, public transport, etc.).
> I guess on my next trip to/in Oz, I will experience what NextG is *really* about.
We wont be stupid enough to let you in again.
Polly the Parrott
<pat...@iloveaustralia.com.au> wrote:
>NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Move over, Korea and Japan. Australia may soon be the
>envy of the world when it comes to advanced wireless networks and services.
Bawahahahahaha
Drunken New Year ravings, surely?
Polly the Parrott
<rod.sp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I guess on my next trip to/in Oz, I will experience what NextG is *really* about.
>
>We wont be stupid enough to let you in again.
"Welcome to Australia", from Rod Speed!
>
Marts
> Telstra, the former state-owned phone company, has spent the last three
> years building out a so-called "Next G" network, which currently boasts
> download speeds of more than 14 megabits per second. The network is, at its
Does it?
> As a result, average Australian consumers are able to avail themselves of
> the high-bandwidth wireless services - streaming wireless video or video
> chat on cell phones, say - most commonly associated with Japan and Korea,
That's just plain misleading. Or the reporter of this story was misled. You'd be
lucky to have a video conversation on any mobile phone without it looking like a
crappy webcam chat on slow DSL or dialup.
> But his boldest move was upgrading the wireless network in a bid to increase
> revenue. Trujillo wagered that if provided with an ultrafast data network
> Australian consumers would pay a premium to watch videos and send multimedia
> text messages on their wireless devices, instead of just making calls.
Well, he's right about that. We do pay premium. At least he's honest about the
expensive pricing model that Telstra uses.
> Trujillo warns that countries risk paying a hefty price if they don't invest
> in their wireless infrastructure. "We are leading the world, not Korea, not
> Japan, and that's exciting," Trujillo said.
A somewhat bold statement.
Frank Slootweg
No worries, Polly! I can recognize tongue-in-cheek when I see it. Rod
is just a big pussycat and at the moment we're best mates. That will
probably last for ... ummm ... well, at least a few more nanoseconds.
Marts
> No worries, Polly! I can recognize tongue-in-cheek when I see it. Rod
> is just a big pussycat and at the moment we're best mates. That will
> probably last for ... ummm ... well, at least a few more nanoseconds.
It's entirely doubtful that the guy understands the concept of "best mates" let
alone any sort of mates.
♥ Horry ♥
And it's entirely possible that you take the insults a little too
seriously.
Kwyjibo
He should. He's a tool.
--
Kwyj.
♥ Horry ♥
GF, C.
Kwyjibo
Good fight, comrade?? Are you a communist?
--
Kwyj.
♥ Horry ♥
It stands for "Good fight, capitalist" actually.
But yes, I'm a communist.
Kwyjibo
Ahh. That makes sense.
>
> But yes, I'm a communist.
Sieg Heil!
--
Kwyj.
♥ Horry ♥
> ? Horry ? wrote:
>> On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:13:43 +1100, Kwyjibo wrote:
>>
>>> ? Horry ? wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:14:07 +1100, Kwyjibo wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ? Horry ? wrote:
>>>>>> On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:15:10 +1100, Marts wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Frank Slootweg wrote...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> No worries, Polly! I can recognize tongue-in-cheek when I see
>>>>>>>> it. Rod is just a big pussycat and at the moment we're best
>>>>>>>> mates. That will probably last for ... ummm ... well, at least a
>>>>>>>> few more nanoseconds.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It's entirely doubtful that the guy understands the concept of
>>>>>>> "best mates" let alone any sort of mates.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> And it's entirely possible that you take the insults a little too
>>>>>> seriously.
>>>>>
>>>>> He should. He's a tool.
>>>>
>>>> GF, C.
>>>
>>> Good fight, comrade?? Are you a communist?
>>
>> It stands for "Good fight, capitalist" actually.
>
> Ahh. That makes sense.
If you took the time not just to read my posts but also to COMPREHEND
them, you'd find that they ALL make sense.
>> But yes, I'm a communist.
>
> Sieg Heil!
That's fascism.
I said "GF, C", not "GC, F".
Kwyjibo
> On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:46:22 +1100, Kwyjibo wrote:
>
>> ? Horry ? wrote:
>>> On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:13:43 +1100, Kwyjibo wrote:
>>>
>>>> ? Horry ? wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:14:07 +1100, Kwyjibo wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> ? Horry ? wrote:
>>>>>>> On Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:15:10 +1100, Marts wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Frank Slootweg wrote...
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> No worries, Polly! I can recognize tongue-in-cheek when I
>>>>>>>>> see it. Rod is just a big pussycat and at the moment we're
>>>>>>>>> best mates. That will probably last for ... ummm ... well, at
>>>>>>>>> least a few more nanoseconds.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It's entirely doubtful that the guy understands the concept of
>>>>>>>> "best mates" let alone any sort of mates.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> And it's entirely possible that you take the insults a little
>>>>>>> too seriously.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> He should. He's a tool.
>>>>>
>>>>> GF, C.
>>>>
>>>> Good fight, comrade?? Are you a communist?
>>>
>>> It stands for "Good fight, capitalist" actually.
>>
>> Ahh. That makes sense.
>
> If you took the time not just to read my posts but also to COMPREHEND
> them, you'd find that they ALL make sense.
I'll remember that in future. Thanks.
>
>
>>> But yes, I'm a communist.
>>
>> Sieg Heil!
>
> That's fascism.
No. It's German. I thought you would have known that. Being a communist, you
probably should be aware that East Germany was a communist state for a
while.
What country speaks fascism? That's not a language I'm familar with.
--
Kwyj.
♥ Horry ♥
>>>> But yes, I'm a communist.
>>>
>>> Sieg Heil!
>>
>> That's fascism.
>
> No. It's German. I thought you would have known that. Being a communist,
> you probably should be aware that East Germany was a communist state for
> a while.
> What country speaks fascism? That's not a language I'm familar with.
If you took the time not just to read my posts but also to COMPREHEND
♥ Horry ♥
ZU BETT GEHEN!
Kwyjibo
Gehen und bekommen gefickt.
Hoffe dass hilft.
--
Kwyj.
Marts
> And it's entirely possible that you take the insults a little too
> seriously.
Anything's possible. But in this case, no.