Telstra 4G: why more speed matters

Telstra 4G: why more speed matters

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Telstra 4G modem.

Australia's first 4G LTE network is open to the public, but what will we do with it?

Long Term Evolution, or LTE, is the next step in Australia’s mobile broadband revolution. It’s referred to as 4G even though it doesn’t technically meet the definition of 4G (we’ll need to wait for LTE Advanced). Yet marketing departments never let the facts get in the way of a good story, so Australia’s telcos are using the term 4G to describe LTE.

After a limited trial with business customers, today Telstra threw open the doors to its new 4G LTE network. Coverage was initially restricted to inner Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, but has expanded to cover more than 30 regional and metropolitan centres (you can check coverage here). This should extend to 80 locations by the end of the year.

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LTE promises download speeds of 100 megabits per second, although we all know that theoretical network speeds should be taken with a grain of salt. Telstra is promising "typical download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps", which sounds more realistic. 

To tap into these impressive speeds you’ll need a new phone or USB dongle. Telstra’s first LTE devices are dual-mode 4G/3G USB dongles which fall back to the HSDPA network where LTE coverage isn’t available. Pricing is the same as existing HSDPA dongles and data, which would indicate that Telstra is keen to get customers on the LTE network as soon as possible in order to share the load with its 850 MHz HSDPA network (just like Vodafone is desperately trying to move customers to its new 850 MHz network to spread the load). What’s really interesting is that you’ll be throttled if you reach your monthly limit, a shift away from Telstra’s horrendous excess mobile data charges.

Current Australian handsets aren’t LTE-compatible, but a handful of LTE-compatible phones are available overseas such as the HTC Thunderbolt, LG Revolution and Samsung Droid Charge. Telstra has promised to offer an LTE-capable HTC Android smartphone some time in the first half of next year, along with an LTE-capable tablet.

So what are we going to do with this new-found speed? You might think it’s targeted at business users, but Telstra is pushing the "fun" consumer angle hard - promising faster TV, movie and music downloads. It’s also pushing the social networking angle, letting you upload incriminating photos to Facebook faster than ever.

Telstra isn’t the only Australian telco forging ahead with LTE. Optus and Vodafone Hutchison Australia have also undertaken LTE trials and should launch public services some time next year (Vodafone was even talking about the end of this year at one point).

Telstra has deep pockets and first-mover advantage, so it might be hoping to drive the competition to the wall in an expensive LTE arms race. If I was a Vodafone or Optus customer, I’d be demanding they put more effort into improving coverage blackspots, but I guess they can’t afford to be left behind.

Do you feel the need for speed, or would you prefer improved coverage from your telco? What would you do with the speed boost offered by LTE?

Posted in: Gadget