Telecom Lead Asia: Alcatel-Lucent will power Telstra’s initiative to provide mobile broadband coverage to race-goers at the Melbourne Cup horse racing event.
Alcatel-Lucent’s lightRadio technology will be integrated into Telstra’s Next G track-side network to offer improved mobile broadband experience to as many as 100,000 people on peak days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Telstra will augment the network with Alcatel-Lucent’s 3G lightRadio Metro Cells throughout the Birdcage hospitality area of the Flemington racecourse in Melbourne.
The deployment of lightRadio Metro Cells will effectively double the available wireless network capacity throughout the Birdcage area, complementing the broader 3G and 4G enabled Next G network across the racecourse venue.
“With the eyes of the world on the carnival, we want to provide racegoers with the same level of connectivity and access to stats, data and video that viewers can get at home watching the event on television. With Alcatel-Lucent’s lightRadio, we aim to provide customers with a truly integrated mobile broadband and racing experience,” said Max Jennings, director of Wireless Network Engineering, Telstra.
Alcatel-Lucent’s lightRadio technology provides mobile operators with the capability to grow their network capacity to meet exploding demand for data services with higher-speeds and in a smaller physical space.
Moreover, lightRadio Metro Cells also addresses many other operator challenges, including reducing power consumption for a greener footprint and providing a deployment solution that helps operators bridge the digital divide for people without Internet access.
“Ensuring optimum coverage and customer experience in busy locations is a high priority for many service providers. Our innovative, high-capacity, low-power lightRadio Metro Cells give us a unique ability to augment coverage for Telstra in heavily-utilized, high-traffic areas without having to build intrusive infrastructure,” said Sean O’Halloran, president and managing director Alcatel-Lucent Australia.
