David Flynn26 July 2008, 10:00 AM
Can’t get ADSL or cable, or leech off your neighbour’s wireless network? Telstra’s new gateways convert Next G into Wi-Fi.
Here’s more proof of why many people (especially outside the US) are asking “Why wait for WiMAX?”. HSDPA-enhanced mobile broadband networks continue to offer a fill-in service to homes where hard-wired broadband is unavailable.
With all 3G networks now offering 3.6Mbps HSDPA for real-world speeds nudging 2Mbps, and Telstra serving up 7.2Mbps for an achievable 3Mbps downlink (the 3G networks are also gearing up for an upgrade to 7.2Mbps), HSDPA mobile broadband can easily hit speeds which were the peak of domestic ADSL broadband just a few years back.
Wireless broadband costs more than a hardwired connection, of course, but in many instances you don’t have a choice. And on the plus side, if you spring for a 3G-to-Wi-Fi router it becomes the broadband service you can take with you (as long as the mobile network signal is there, of course) on holidays, while businesses can shift their broadband from the office to a trade show floor.
Now Telstra is putting Next G on the home broadband menu with the release of a $529 Next G router for homes and offices. The former is known as the BigPond 7.2 Wireless Broadband Home Network Gateway, although when dressed in business clothes it’s the Telstra Turbo 7 Series Wireless Gateway.
The units are identical bar the branding: they’re built by NetComm and break a Next G signal at 7.2Mbps into an 802.11g Wi-Fi signal plus four Ethernet ports. Just be sure to save up big bucks for the outrageous costs which Telstra charges, and don't even
think about using BitTorrent!