Melbourne, Wednesday 15 July 2020: Telstra today announced that its Smart Wi-Fi Booster (Gen 2) now comes with a guarantee of wall-to-wall Wi-Fi coverage. The initiative, a first of its kind for an Australian telco, is available to Telstra nbn™ broadband customers for $12/mth over a 24-month term (or $288 outright).
Once connected to the nbn network, some customers, especially those with larger, double brick or multiple-storied houses, struggle to connect devices in rooms that are far away from the modem.
If customers don't think they have wall to-wall Wi-Fi coverage, they can add a Smart Wi-Fi Booster (Gen 2) which pairs with the Telstra Smart Modem and we'll work with them to ensure coverage reaches every room.
We may also send up to three additional Smart Wi-Fi Boosters at no additional cost. If customers are still not satisfied after 30 days, they can cancel their Smart Wi-Fi Booster repayments with no further charges and receive a one-month credit.1
Telstra Connected Home & Business Executive Michele Garra said a reliable home internet connection has never been more important with so many Australians currently at home.
"We've recently experienced how critical it is to have a fast and reliable internet connection in the whole house to help us work, study, be entertained and remain connected. During the peak of the nation staying at home, daytime traffic was up by as much as 70% in late March with an average of about nine connected devices per household.
"We're also currently delivering our fastest nbn speeds ever,2 with the lopwerst latency of any provider during evening hours,3 when gaming and video streaming is mainly happening. This means less lag and less waiting, and results in a better customer experience.
"As the nbn rollout nears its completion, it is important to educate our customers about how and why strong Wi-Fi is a critical aspect of creating a positive internet experience, particularly with so many using multiple screens around the home. We're seeing customers put their modem in a poor location like in a cupboard or behind a television which reduces the Wi-Fi signal strength."
Wi-Fi limitations in some Australian homes
There is also limited understanding of how to improve Wi-Fi without delving into the world of repeaters and bridges or purchasing expensive Wi-Fi routers.
Telstra Smart Wi-Fi Boosters (Gen 2) integrate seamlessly with the Telstra Smart Modem (Gen 2) using EasyMesh technology. As customers move around the house, their device will seamlessly switch to the strongest Wi-Fi signal. The system will also proactively help monitor and improve service, as well as diagnose problems and potentially help customers solve common issues proactively.
"We're seeing Aussie households increase its internet usage about 40 per cent annually. This means the in-home Wi-Fi network is as important - if not more - than the nbn connection into the home. From our research, we've found one in three broadband customers in Australia experience sub-optimal Wi-Fi performance. And in pilot customer trials of our new program, we didn't find a Wi-Fi coverage problem we couldn't solve with our Smart Modem and Smart Wi-Fi Booster combo," Garra said.
Ms. Garra said the Wi-Fi satisfaction guarantee was the latest initiative in Telstra's T22 strategy to radically simplify and improve its products and services for customers.
"We continue to focus on innovation to help address customer pain points and deliver the fastest and most reliable connectivity we can. We know about a quarter of customers experience at least one network outage each month and we are the only provider who can keep their voice and data connected as our Smart Modem fails over to Australia's best mobile network.
These are a few reasons why we have recently hit a big milestone - over two million Telstra Smart Modems have been delivered to our consumer and business customers. Today's announcement combined with Telstra's nbn satisfaction guarantee means more customers are choosing Telstra as Australia's leading nbn provider for a great in-home internet experience."
