Optus trials fixed 4G broadband

As part of a planned overhaul of the Optus' wireless broadband division, the company is about to commence a trial for home wireless broadband services for 200 Optus staff across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide.

The three-month trial will see Optus staff get a hold of a modem for their home to be able to use as a substitute for their fixed broadband service.

The trial is being headed up by Optus' managing director for Fixed, Martin Mercer, who has extensive experience in offering fixed wireless services through his former company, Vividwireless.

Mercer said in a statement that through Optus' multiband "4G Plus" network, the company will be able to provide dedicated bandwidth for fixed wireless services to ensure quality of service is maintained.

"This Optus Home Wireless Broadband trial is about putting our powerful 4G Plus network through its paces to understand the full potential of what we can delivery for our customers — not just in mobile, but also home broadband," he said.

"This is not just in terms of speed and experience, but also how we manage our 4G Plus network to actively prevent a customer's connection changing, wavering or dropping off during busy times. If the trial is successful, Optus will be able to offer home broadband services across ADSL2+, Cable, NBN and Wireless — providing real choice for whatever circumstances suit our customers' needs."

The trial comes ahead of a planned push back into the wireless broadband market by Optus in 2014. Optus CEO Kevin Russell told ZDNet last week that the company experienced a drop in its overall customers in its last quarterly results because it was focusing on 4G before rolling out new wireless broadband plans in 2014.