The good news? If you didn’t think Next G was fast enough already, Telstra’s latest network upgrade offers user download speeds of up 20 Mbps. The bad news? Initially, the Ultimate USB modem will only be available to business customers.
Granted, getting an ABN number isn’t that difficult, but even then, the device won’t be on sale in Telstra shops until October 5. The first round of modems, released today, are reserved for large-scale enterprise customers. Telstra has promised a consumer release later in the year. Telstra calculates that around 50% of the Australian population will be able to access the enhanced network. (I’ll be testing one around the country this week and will report the results in Road Worrier next week.)
What the appearance of this device does mean is that there’s no reason to buy Telstra’s existing Elite modem, which costs the same ($299 if you don’t buy it on contract) but won’t be able to access the dual-band HSPA+ used by the newer device.
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