Australia's Telstra has launched the second generation of its Smart Modem, adding 4G voice failover to prevent disruptions.
Telstra first launched its Smart Modem in February last year. The hybrid modem is designed to simplify the process of connecting to a residential broadband services.
It is designed to work across multiple access technologies, including providing connections to Telstra's retail National Broadband Network (NBN) customers.
The second generation of the Smart Modem is designed to switch from fixed line to 4G mobile coverage as needed without additional mobile data costs. Mobile speeds are limited to 6Mbps downlink.
Telstra's NBN customers will be able to use the failover connection to continue to make fixed line calls over 4G if their fixed line connection is down.
In addition, the modem includes new diagnostics tools to allow Telstra's support team to improve the broadband experience for customers, including tools that monitor Wi-Fi signal strength and performance in the home.
All data gathered from these tools will be fed into Telstra's OSS, to allow agents to monitor how a home network and broadband service is performing. Field technicians will be able to access this data to evaluate how a home connection is performing before they even arrive on site, Telstra said.