Australia’s largest mobile operator Telstra today unveiled what it claims is “the fastest mobile broadband modem on the planet” as the company provided further details on the imminent launch of its ‘enhanced HSPA’ (eHSPA) network. The modem – developed by Sierra Wireless and Qualcomm – will be available for trials next month followed by a full commercial launch early next year. Offering theoretical peak speeds of up to 21 Mb/s, Telstra says the eHSPA upgrade will make its Next G network “the most advanced national mobile network on the planet.” Launched in October 2006, Telstra’s Next G network provides 3G services in the 850 MHz band and covers 99 percent of the population. Initial peak HSPA speeds of 3.6 Mb/s have recently been increased to peak speeds of up to 14.4 Mb/s, with the touted 21 Mb/s figure the next step. Ericsson is the network vendor for deployment. eHSPA is also sometimes referred to as HSPA+ or HSPA Evolution.

Meanwhile Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo also today made a number of other announcements at the company’s annual investor briefing in Sydney. He provided details on an alliance with Microsoft to merge mobiles, desktop computers and software over Telstra’s IP-based fixed and mobile networks for Australian businesses, as well as a new consumer service called MyConnect that aims to provide a unified messaging and email service for mobiles and PCs. In addition, Trujillo reiterated that the company’s fiscal 2009 guidance remains unchanged and talked up recent growth, especially in mobile. In the September quarter, he said the operator achieved double-digit mobile service revenue growth, its 3G subscriber base moved beyond 50 percent of its total mobile customer base, and mobile revenue exceeded PSTN revenue.