The next stage of Telstra's 4G strategy has been officially announced, with the telco confirming its 700MHz network will go by the name 4GX.
Already rolling out across the country and set to arrive in all capital cities, plus 50 key regional locations by January 2015, the new network promises typical network speeds up to 100Mbps using a category 6 device like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Although theoretically, it can go as high as 300mbps.
The 4GX name will also incorporate the current 1800MHz spectrum already running around the country.
The all new 'X' men
Not only will the additional spectrum increase speeds, but Telstra is quick to emphasise that the extra bandwidth will also enable additional features like Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and HD video calling.
While Telstra would only go so far as to say the services will launch in 2015, they also pointed out that in the areas they have switched on the 4GX network they have already found a shift of about 20 per cent of 4G traffic to the new network.
While it can't officially switch on the 700MHz network until January 1 next year, Telstra has been working with the ACMA to acquire commercial trial licenses as areas switch off the 700MHz TV broadcasts around the country.
Speed Demons
During the launch event, we managed to run some speed tests on a Galaxy Note 4 using the 4GX network.
Results were varied, with the slowest speed starting at around 6Mbps, but the highest result showing 106Mbps.
Using a Category 4 iPhone 6, we managed to consistently pull down 28-35Mbps, which is consistently faster than your ADSL connection.
As more 700MHz-enabled devices appear over the coming months, those speeds will undoubtedly balance out a bit, but if you own an iPhone 6 or a recent Galaxy phone, you should definitely enjoy the speeds while you can.
- Here's your handy guide to everything 4G
