Telstra’s latest home modem gateway is a pretty interesting product, a genuine hybrid between mobile 4G connections and fixed line internet services allowing your connection to stay alive no matter what the state of your fixed line connection.
Almost everyone has a story about moving home and having to wait days or weeks for your line to be activated. No more!
Telstra has today announced an Australian-first modem which ensures you will be online the moment you plug in – the Telstra Gateway Frontier uses 4G to immediately connect online while you’re waiting for your fixed line connection to be completed.
Telstra say “hundreds of thousands of Australians expected to move home, swap to a new broadband service or transition to the NBN this year” which itself indicates an important use-case for this new modem.
How exactly will Telstra switch thousands of cable (HFC) connected customers to the NBN almost overnight? Easy, offer people the continuity of service through the provision of this device and a 4G connection. Take the Gateway Frontier and you’ll stay online, opt for a standard NBN modem and you’ll have some downtime – possibly days between your current Cable Broadband and the new NBN connection.
Stuart Bird, Telstra Executive Director of Home and Business Products said, “We know home internet is central to how our customers access entertainment, organise their lives and connect to the world. Many customers have told us being without a home broadband service for even one hour is disruptive so we are introducing a solution that enables them to stay connected to the things they love to do online within minutes of plugging their home gateway in.”
“By bringing together the best of our mobile and home networks, families can be confident we will keep them connected so they can continue to access entertainment, work from home and keep in touch online.
“And as our customers adopt more smart home technologies, staying online becomes even more integral as households
connect to services such as remote monitoring, in-home voice assistants and home automation,” Mr Bird said.
The Gateway Frontier is available from today for ADSL, Cable and NBN customers for $216, or at $9 a month for 24 months.
There’s no clarity in Telstra’s announcement to confirm if a separate 4G plan is required, however it notes that speeds are limited to 6mbps down and 1mbps up, which indicates it is a redundancy to your existing contract for home broadband with no additional 4G fees.
Trev is a Technology Commentator, Dad, Speaker and Rev Head.
He produces and hosts several popular podcasts, EFTM, Two Blokes Talking Tech, Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars, The Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, and the Private Feed. He is the resident tech expert for Triple M on radio across Australia, and is the resident Tech Expert on Channel 9’s Today Show and appears regularly on 9 News, A Current Affair and Sky News Early Edition.
Father of three, he is often found in his Man Cave.
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