Ericsson and Telstra recently announced what they claim is the world's first LTE 200km cell range capability on a commercial mobile broadband network.
The first extended reach call was completed using a Telstra site at Mount Dowe in the Australian state of New South Wales and demonstrates that this new capability can deliver up to double the 4G cell range.
This new capability extends Telstra's 4G cell range beyond the current 3GPP standards limit of 100km up to 200km. This breakthrough has been achieved via a software upgrade to Telstra’s world leading mobile network that is based on the Ericsson Radio System. This is a critical capability to enable the benefits of 4G broadband coverage to be shared over the full extent of Telstra's mobile coverage footprint.Following successful testing and deployment, the capability will become commercially available later in 2020 across select locations, further boosting network coverage as demands continue to grow. This brings significant value for Telstra customers, especially for those in rural, regional, and offshore areas.
Emillio Romeo, Head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand
This builds on a previous world first coverage milestone where Ericsson and Telstra achieved the world’s first 200km cell range via 3G in 2007.
Channa Seneviratne, Network Engineering Executive, Telstra
We live in a vast nation and fast data in more places is critical in ensuring that we are providing the best coverage for our customers, whether they're in the city or the country.
