Telstra Turbo Connection Manager



AS announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Telstra's Next G network has recently been upgraded to support download speeds of up to 21 megabits per second (Mbps), making it the fastest mobile broadband network in the world.

Windows and Mac users can download the Telstra Post-Paid Mobile Broadband Connection Manager for USB devices. Download for the Telstra Post-Paid Mobile Broadband Connection Manager: Bigpond. B) Remove the USB modem from the computer and uninstall the Telstra Connection Manager. C) Make sure no other applications are open such as emails or your internet browser, and install the new version of the Telstra Connection Manager. D) Open the Telstra Connection manager to complete installation. A restart may be required.

Telstra turbo connection manager windows 10

To take advantage of these new speeds, Telstra has released the Turbo 21 Modem - a mobile broadband modem that connects via a USB port.

The Telstra Turbo 21 Modem is about the same size as most mobile broadband devices, though it’s a little chunkier than some of the recent USB modems from 3 Mobile and Vodafone.

The Turbo 21 Modem includes a SIM card slot and a microSD card slot to allow the device to double as a USB flash drive. Unfortunately, and unlike many other USB modems on the market, the Turbo 21 Modem isn't plug-and-play and it requires the included software to be installed on your PC.

Telstra Turbo Connection Manager Windows 7

This is particularly annoying for netbook users, as most of them don't come with optical drives. Mac users are also out of luck - the Turbo 21 Modem is only compatible with computers running Windows XP and Vista, though Telstra promises to remedy this in the near future.

A Next G SIM card is used as a form of user identification. In addition, a PIN must be entered each time the device is plugged in. The sales package includes a lanyard, a belt clip and a satin bag; there is also an antenna to boost reception.

Though the device has a potential maximum download speed of 21Mbps, according to Telstra the Turbo 21 Modem should provide 'typical' speeds of between 550 kilobits per second (Kbps) and 8Mbps.

Due to varying factors, including coverage, network congestion and signal strength, the speeds we encountered were around 2Mbps - an excellent speed when compared to competitors, but still a far cry from 8Mbps.

For this reason the '21' marketing appears slightly misleading. The theoretical maximum of 21Mbps currently only applies to major metropolitan cities and select regional areas.

During testing, the Turbo 21 Modem performed well and we were able to achieve speeds of up to 2.8Mbps, though speed regularly fluctuated between 900kbps and 1.4Mbps. Despite the 21Mbps downlink, upload speeds are currently limited to 1Mbps. Telstra claims this will be upgraded to a peak of 5.8Mbps before the end of 2009.

Telstra's Turbo Connection Manager is a simple but effective program that allows you to access session information, including sent and received data, 3G/HSDPA indicators and signal strength.

Like most of Telstra's products, the Turbo 21 Modem doesn't come cheap. It is available on two 24-month plans: $39 per month for a 400MB data allowance, or $59 per month with a 1GB data allowance. Both plans come with a $299 up-front cost; the Turbo 21 Modem will cost $499 if you decide to purchase it outright.

Originally published asTelstra's fastest broadband modem

Telstra already has a pre-paid wireless broadband package available, but its latest offering promises better speeds. Aptly dubbed the Turbo USB modem, this Telstra service has excellent coverage and speed but is once again let down by a 30-day recharge expiry.

The Telstra Turbo Pre-Paid Wireless Broadband USB modem looks like most other mobile broadband devices, but its size is an issue. When we plugged it into a USB port on our test notebook (HP's Envy13 laptop) it prevented access to the second port located alongside it. Two LEDs on the modem notify you of power and data status and lifting a small flap on the left side allows the connection of an external antenna for better reception.

Telstra Turbo Connection Manager Job

The software required to use the Telstra service is installed on the modem itself, which makes it easy to use on multiple computers. The modem also doubles as a USB flash drive: a microSD card slot is located just above the SIM card slot, alongside the USB connector.

The Telstra Turbo Pre-Paid Wireless Broadband modem is rated at a maximum download speed of 7.2 megabits per second (Mbps) and an upload speed of 5.8Mbps. Telstra claims the service will provide typical real world speeds of between 550 kilobits per second (Kbps) and 3Mbps. As with all mobile Broadband devices, the actual speed achieved will depend on a number of factors such as your location and equipment, network usage and coverage, and network congestion at the time. Telstra's Next G network supports download speeds of up to 21Mbps, but only the much more expensive Turbo 21 Modem can take advantage of this.

The Telstra Turbo Pre-Paid Wireless Broadband service is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X, and installing the software required takes just a few minutes. Simply plug the modem into a spare USB port on your notebook or PC and the software should automatically run. The Telstra Turbo Connection Manager has an easy and straightforward interface and comes with two extra pieces of software as part of TelstraOne Experience — My Place has quick links to a range of Telstra services and content including Whereis maps, Yellow Pages and Weather information, while there is also an option to install a BigPond news application. This news ticker scrolls RSS feeds across the screen allowing you to quickly view and read the latest news stories. Personally, we found both of these extras rather uninspiring though some may see them as a worthwhile addition.

Using our Broadband Speed Test, the Telstra Turbo Pre-Paid Wireless broadband modem managed to achieve download speeds of up to 2Mbps, but it regularly hovered around 1.5-1.6Mbps. Upload speeds were stable at around 700Kbps, but did hover over 1.2Mbps on occasions.

Using the Telstra Turbo Pre-Paid Wireless Broadband modem we were able to download an 89.9 megabyte iTunes installation package in 6min 49sec — an average speed of 225 kilobytes per second.

Telstra Turbo Connection Manager Support

Telstra sells the Turbo Pre-Paid Wireless Broadband pack for $179 up-front and includes $10 credit (equivalent to 75MB). Telstra uses a per kilobyte charging system, and the data rates and allowance are determined by the recharge amount. For example, recharging with $30 gives you a per kilobyte charge of 13.3c (225MB of effective data), while recharging with $100 gives you a per kilobyte charge of 1.65c (6GB of effective data). Unfortunately, all recharges have a 30-day expiry, so any unused credit after this time is lost.

Telstra Turbo Connection Manager Software

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