Telstra stays on 40 Gbps Next IP upgrade path

Telstra has finished upgrading the capacity of its Next IP network link between Sydney and Melbourne from 10 to 40 Gbps.

The upgrade was announced almost a year ago - in July of last year.

“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," Telstra chief operations officer Michael Rocca said in a statement today.

The Ericsson Marconi MHL 3000 - which underpins Next IP - was capable of delivering up to 80 channels at 40 Gbps per channel over a single fibre pair.

Rocca also reaffirmed plans for upgrades to the Next IP network beyond 40 Gbps.

“When we announced this upgrade last July we said there was a path to 100 Gbps; this continues to be our direction,” he said.

“We have already successfully trialled Ericsson’s 100 Gbps technology within our model environment and proven that the existing network still has great potential to continue expanding according to demand.”

Telstra had also trialled kit from rival Nortel.