SYDNEY -- In an Australian first Telstra has quadrupled the capacity of its Next IP™ network between Melbourne and Sydney to meet growing demand that is doubling data traffic on the network every 19 months.

Michael Rocca, Chief Operations Officer said the upgrade to the busiest link of Telstra’s network increases the capacity of the existing Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transmission from 10 to 40 Gbps.

“The Telstra Next IP™ network is the backbone for all our networks and our customers, particularly our enterprise and government customers, who have come to rely on its speed and capacity to drive productivity gains within their organisations,” Mr. Rocca said.

“This is the first of our intercapital routes to be upgraded and we expect to carry out similar upgrades to other major cities over the coming year.”

Sam Saba, Chief Executive Officer, Ericsson Australia and New Zealand, said that operators world-wide are planning the deployment of 40Gbps DWDM technology to cope with the fast-growing demand for broadband bandwidth.

“Telstra is at the forefront of the migration to next generation networks. Intercapital routes such as that between Melbourne and Sydney are expensive and complex to build, and Ericsson’s Marconi MHL 3000 DWDM solution enables Telstra to offer customers an improved service with minimal investment and changes to infrastructure,” said Mr. Saba.

Telstra Corp. Ltd. (ASX: TLS; NZK: TLS)

Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)