Turbo 21 Modem

Get set to experience the fastest national mobile broadband network on earth

To cater for the rapidly-changing demands of doing business, Telstra is excited to announce the imminent launch of the new Turbo 21 Modem - exclusively to business customers. Available in limited numbers from 23 February 2009, it will unleash the power of the world’s fastest national mobile broadband network for Australian businesses in selected areas.

Announced at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona last month SmartHouse is one of the first to bench test this device and they were impressed.

Set to be rolled out by Telstra this month the new Turbo 21 modem was actually faster that my home BigPond service which raises the question as to whether notebook users would actually need a home service if they own one of these broadband beasts.

At the recent CES show in Las Vegas I tested two of the fastest wireless modems offered by US carriers and with both modems I felt that I was back in the old days of dial up. They were painstakingly slow and delivered a very intermittent service even at LA and Las Vegas airport where the wireless coverage was suppose to be good. It also made me realise that what Australia has in the form of wireless coverage is excellent. 

The Sierra Wireless modem which is being marketed as the Turbo 21 modem comes in a new style box complete with software, signal booster antenna extension lead for the antenna along with a storage bag and neck strap for the modem.

The software was easy to load however the Sierra driver took a while to install.

Without the extension antenna the speed was a tad slower however with the antenna which I used in the middle of North Sydney the device was very fast and I was easily able to download a 3MB file in 10.43 seconds. Tests of a 15MB file proved faster.