Telstra Next G proves it worth during Cyclone Ului
Tue 23 Mar 2010
In the aftermath of Cyclone Ului one has to praise the Telstra Next G network. Telstra's mobile phone network has continued to operate at Airlie Beach and Cannonvale throughout the Cyclone period. It is understood that services from other major carriers lost service on Saturday night and have only operated sporadically since.
The service continuity extends to the Next G mobile broadband as well. ChannelWhitsundays.com remained connected throughout the cyclone and aftermath with out interruption. This meant we were able to update our web site with stories, photos and upload a 100Mb video report within 8 hours of the cyclone eye passing right to centre of Airlie Beach.
In addition, ChannelWhitsundays.com were uniquely able to provide backpackers and other travelers with free wifi internet access as part of relief services. Operating between midday and 6pm Monday, ChannelWhitsundays.com joined forces with the Airlie Beach Lions club and the Rotary club of Airlie Beach at the lagoon car park. In a fantastic show of community spirit Lions, Rotary and other volunteers provided a BBQ lunch, drinks while ChannelWhitsundays.com provided a free Internet cafe. This was only made possible with the Telstra Next G hot spot operating from the back of the ChannelWhitsundays.com outside broadcast van. "It seemed the obvious thing to do," says John Nayler from Channelwhitsundays.com, "Stranded travelers had no way to contact family and friends to let them know that they were OK. So many mobile phones were not working or batteries flat, so text messages were out of the question - we were very happy to connect travelers with the ones they love."
The unique combination of mobile technology and Telstra Next G made a huge difference.
The configuration of the mobile Internet cafe included:
Telstra Next G Turbo 21 + 15GB data plan
Netcomm N3G002W router
4 x Asus eeepc 1005HA
Other travelers were permitted to connected with their Apple iPhones and notebook computers.
