Telstra deploys 50 4G small cells in Melbourne CBD

Telstra has installed 4G small cells at 50 sites across the Melbourne CBD as part of a national three-year rollout of 1000 cells intended to boost capacity.

The telco today said the Melbourne deployment would provide additional mobile capacity to the city's "busiest locations".

The cells cover areas around Spring St, Spencer St, La Trobe St and Flinders St. Each site uses existing mobile infrastructure on the likes of street lights and electricity poles.

Telstra said traffic carried on the cells at the four streets was between "two and three times the average CBD small cell traffic".

The telco has traditionally used small cells - a miniature version of a mobile base station - in rural and remote areas to extend coverage, as a cheaper alternative to building a new base station.

It is embarking on a national rollout of the technology in metro areas to "handle the ever growing demand for data".

The CBDs of Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth will also house Telstra small cell sites under the plan. It did not detail its rollout schedule.

The telco last week said it was also trialling small cells on infrastructure owned by energy company TasNetworks to address mobile black spots in Tasmania.