Telstra to begin LTE trials in May
Telstra has chosen Nokia Siemens Networks to conduct trials of Long Term Evolution (LTE) in May to assess the technology’s capability and performance as the next-generation evolution for the Next G™ network.
Michael Rocca, Telstra’s acting chief operations officer, said the trials will help Telstra understand how the new technology will work with the operator’s Next G™ network.
“LTE is globally acknowledged as the dominant next-generation technology for mobile technology”, said Rocca. “It will be an important evolution for the Next G™ network in due course because it will give consumers access to higher speeds while giving Telstra the capacity to serve an increasing number of customers and applications.”
“Wireless technology has been advancing in great strides in recent years and LTE is the next big step beyond 3G,“ said Kalevi Kostiainen, head of the Australia and New Zealand region at Nokia Siemens Networks. “Through the advancement in technology that LTE brings, this will in turn enhance the user experience for many Australians as the number of wireless broadband users continues to grow. Nokia Siemens Networks are delighted to be working with Telstra in trialling LTE.”
Telstra will spend the next three to six months testing the feasibility and technical capability of LTE for future commercialization. Nokia Siemens Networks is the leader in LTE technology, being the first to enable commercial LTE calls and handovers, fully in line with the 3GPP Release 8 March 2009 baseline standard.* In addition, Nokia Siemens Networks is trialling with a large number of customers globally and has already secured nine commercial LTE contracts.