March, 18, 2010 - Telstra has chosen Nokia Siemens Networks and Huawei to conduct trials of Long Term Evolution (LTE) in May to assess the technology’s capability and performance as the next-generation evolution for the Next G™ network.

Michael Rocca, Telstra’s acting chief operations officer, said the trials will help Telstra understand how the new technology will work with the operator’s Next G™ network.

The live trial will be able to reach peak downlink speeds of up to 150Mbps, on which streaming high-definition video, video and voice calls, and lightning-fast internet browsing can be offered.

"Wireless technology has been advancing in great strides in recent years and LTE is the next big step beyond 3G,“ said Kalevi Kostiainen, head of the Australia and New Zealand region at Nokia Siemens Networks.

"This is a great opportunity for Huawei to showcase its next-generation LTE solution in Australia," said Huawei Australia CTO Peter Rossi.

The LTE trial, which will be located in Victoria, is expected to begin in May and will run for three to six months.