Telstra talks up Next G network

According to Telstra this will come in handy for rural areas when it closes its 2G CDMA network on 28 April.

Telstra country wide director, Gary Goldsworthy, said the high data speeds of the Next G network provided high quality video streaming and enabled users to control remote cameras or equipment from anywhere they had an internet connection.

"Remote telemetry, which uses wireless technology to monitor and report data, is enhanced on Telstra's Next G network. This provides businesses with a huge potential to improve efficiency, reduce operational costs and provide superior real time information," Goldsworthy said.

Telstra is currently working with a number of third parties, including the University of New England (UNE), to assist them in developing solutions that use the high data speeds and wide coverage of the Next G Network.

"The UNE's RMCam product for example is a remote monitoring solution developed to deliver vision and telemetry services, with the key benefits being the mitigation of travel time, personnel expenses and maximising opportunity cost savings associated with staff and capital re-deployment," Goldsworthy said.

He said some examples of video-based telemetry services could include the remote viewing and monitoring of aquaculture sites, livestock in paddocks or even for security purposes.

"Currently businesses such as farms, vineyards and aquaculture operators are using telemetry over the slower 2G mobile networks, such as CDMA, to monitor data such as rainfall, wind speed, soil moisture and water temperature,” Goldsworthy said.

“These businesses now have the opportunity not just to get this data from remote sites but to actually see what is happening on the ground and control remote equipment without leaving their office.”

According to Goldsworthy, this has the potential to offer enormous savings in both time and resources as businesses no longer have to travel to remote sites to check the status of or make adjustments to their operations.

However Goldsworthy reminded telemetry customers that the CDMA network was scheduled to close on 28 April.