Telstra has announced it intends to boost the speed of its Next G 3G network to 21Mbps by the end of the year, via eHSPA.

To take advantage of this, the company has also unveiled the first mobile broadband modem capable of achieving 21Mbps downlink speeds.

The modem was showcased at last week's Telstra Investor Day, where the company held the first public eHSPA data session for the device.

The modem has been developed in conjunction with Sierra Wireless and Qualcomm. Trials of the modem will begin in December, with a full launch expected for early 2009.

At the investor briefing, Telstra also announced it intends to partner with Cisco to develop productivity tools targeted at Australian enterprises and large organisations.

Under the arrangement Cisco's technologies and services will be delivered over the Telstra's Next G and Next IP networks. Telstra recently announced a similar partnership with Microsoft. 

The company also launched a new messaging suite. The MyConnect suite will combine email, voicemail, picture messaging, SMS and multimedia messages in an integrated online and mobile service.

Meanwhile, Telstra's CEO Sol Trujillo has again threatened not to bid for the tender to build Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN) if the government insists on any form of structural separation.

According to The Australian, Trujillo labelled the concept of separation “stupid with a capital S.”

Source:telecomasia.net