If you’re about to hit the road and head to Birdsville for the famous races next month, don’t forget to pack your Telstra Next G™ mobile phone because the town now has its first permanent 3G mobile service.

I’m very excited about this, not only because it’s something my engineers had been keen to do for a while, but also because it is the first Telstra service of its kind in Australia that uses satellite-fed 3G technology instead of the terrestrial network for a permanent mobile solution. It will provide coverage to the town and surrounding areas, extending outwards in a radius of approximately 20 to 30 kilometres.

Birdsville is an iconic outback town and its annual racing carnival is so popular that it swells the town’s population from its usual 120 residents to more than 6000. Last year, Telstra provided temporary mobile coverage during the Birdsville races using one of our cells on wheels and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

However, what makes Birdsville such an iconic Australian place – it’s a very small town very far out in the Outback – is a very real obstacle to telecommunications and as a result, the town does not have access to the type of transmission infrastructure typically required to support 3G mobile services. The new base station was a joint effort with Telstra supplying the satellite technology and network partner Ericsson donating the base station equipment.

An important thing to note is if you’re travelling in from a big city you will notice that download speeds at Birdsville will be less than those you normally see quoted. This is because satellite links have certain limitations, although Telstra customers will still enjoy our impressive mobile service.

Will you be going to the Birdsville Races this year? Leave me a comment and let me know how you will use the town’s new 3G service while you’re there.