Telstra adding ADSL to 400,000 new services

INTERNET users in regional and outer metropolitan areas will be given greater access to ADSL broadband after recent tests by Telstra showed that transmission limits can be increased.

Telstra announced its intention to extend Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line to an additional 400,000 telephone services across Australia by the end of March this year.

This follows more than 12 months of “detailed testing and investigation”, which has shown that Telstra can extend ADSL availability to customers located four kilometres from an exchange.

Previously, only customers within a 3.5km radius of an exchange could access ADSL.

The move came just days before the telco announced it had more than 500,000 broadband subscribers, a figure it said had more than doubled in the 12 months since January 2003 (up from 244,000 broadband subscribers).

Telstra said the growth confirmed that it was on track to meet its target of 1,000,000 broad-band subscribers by the end of 2005 and $1 billion in broadband revenue by the end of 2006.

Telstra spokesman Andrew Gaspar said that, while Telstra had been working to provide ADSL broadband to more areas, a key issue was ensuring acceptable data and voice quality over telephone lines that also carried ADSL services.

Adding ADSL to a telephone line should have no noticeable impact on the loudness of the telephone voice service, he said.

In a statement Telstra said that sound levels reduced over longer distances and the acceptable limits had, until this time, been reached about 3.5km away from an ADSL-enabled exchange.

“The availability of ADSL is limited by distance, and previously premises beyond 3.5km of an enabled exchange were unable to access it,” Mr Gaspar said.

“After significant research and testing by Telstra Research Laboratories, we are able to extend the availability to at least 4km.

“There are a number of premises around Perth just outside the 3.5km limit that have previously sought ADSL, and we are now able to make it available without impacting on the voice quality over the telephone line.

“This is great news for many businesses and home users throughout Perth and various regional areas who have previously sought ADSL, but were prevented because they were just outside the 3.5km zone.”

Telstra currently provides ADSL via 1029 ADSL-enabled exchanges.

Group managing director of Telstra Country Wide, Doug Campbell, said the announcement was: “One of a series of initiatives by Telstra to improve the current reach of ADSL from approximately 75 per cent of services to up to 90 per cent over the next three years.

 “Telstra recently launched an ADSL Demand Register that will see more exchanges provided with ADSL based on customer demand.”

Mr Campbell said Telstra’s ADSL Demand Register, which is accessible on the telco’s web site, was established for Telstra customers to register their interest in ADSL if their exchange was not yet enabled.

“We have started installing new ‘mini’ ADSL devices that allow us to provided the service in many areas where large electronic systems have previously made this impossible and we have developed processes for working around or replacing some electronic systems that have previously limited ADSL delivery,” he said.