26 September 2007
Passengers onboard Spirit of Tasmania I and II will
soon be able to use ATMs, shop with EFTPOS and can now get
uninterrupted mobile coverage and fast wireless broadband during
the popular Devonport to Melbourne journey.
The new services are delivered by Telstra's Next G™ mobile
network.
Telstra Country Wide® Group Managing Director, Mr Geoff Booth -
who tested the services onboard the ship this week - said the
network extension will provide many benefits for passengers.
"No time need be lost on the 11-hour journey now that Telstra
Next G™ network customers can get access to the on-board 7.2
megabit per second broadband network by simply inserting a wireless
broadband card into a laptop computer," Mr Booth said.
"On mobiles, customers can watch 16
channels of FOXTEL or 25 BigPond TV channels, search Yellow Pages,
download music, check the up-to-date weather conditions at their
destination and of course make video-calls and voice calls.
Mr Booth said that since Telstra turned
on the Next G™ network in October 2006 more than a million
Australians had already embraced the freedom to access the web,
email, files and BigPond and FOXTEL content while they are on the
move.
"The Next G™ network has created a paradigm shift in the way
Telstra's customers work, live and play."
TT-Line Chairman, Mr Denis Rogers,
said he was pleased that Telstra was able to deliver faster
connections and continuous coverage onboard the ships.
"Passengers onboard Spirit of
Tasmania will now have faster access to mobile and internet
communications and uninterrupted coverage. This is an impressive
technological advancement that will enable everyone onboard to
remain connected to the outside world while sailing anywhere in
Bass Strait," he said.
Mr Booth said that coverage extensions of the Next G™ network
also benefit the marine, fishing and tourism industries operating
on Bass Strait.
"The Next G™ network's reach has dramatically improved mobile
broadband coverage on Bass Strait, enabling people in marine,
fishing and tourism industries real-time access to their corporate
email and IT systems while on the water. This can increase
efficiency and productivity through quicker response times to
important business matters."
Passengers on board the Spirit of Tasmania will
have access to:
- EFTPOS transactions from the Spirits' bars, shops and
restaurants.
- ATM banking from the ships' teller on level seven, previously
only available when in dock;
- up to 7.2 Mbps broadband access from the Internet Kiosk on
level seven - previously this dial up service operated at a maximum
speed of 80kbps;
- Payphone calls across the Bass Strait, previously only
available for part of the journey using CDMA.
To find out more about Telstra's Next G™ network and services
visit www.telstra.com/nextg or contact your local
Telstra Country Wide team on 1800 OUR TCW.
Telstra Media
Contact:
Patrick O'Beirne
Ph: 0407 041 836
TT Line Media
Contact:
Carolyn Neill
Ph: 0438 393 898
