(Image: Chris Duckett/ZDNet)
Telstra has switched on LTE-Broadcast (LTE-B) across its network in an effort to prevent congestion by having users share the same data stream.
Initially, LTE-B is only available on Samsung S9 and S8 handsets when using the AFL Live app. The telco told media on Thursday that more applications and firmware updates for handsets to allow for LTE-B use are in the pipeline.
Mike Wright, Telstra group managing director of Networks, told ZDNet that the threshold for towers to switch from unicast to using LTE-B is only a handful of users.
"The business case basically says after one or two users, it's cheaper to use broadcast. In fact, we did a business case a few years ago that said if 1 percent of traffic could be released by 2020, it would pay [for itself]," he told ZDNet.
Wright said the telco will progressively deploy the technology in its network, and is first targeting high-traffic areas. Currently, it is using LTE-B only on weekends, and switching back to unicast during the week.
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Although LTE-B is currently limited to time, devices, and apps, Telstra said that any devices it can move to broadcast will free up bandwidth for devices locked to unicast.
"We are now streaming live sports content to a massive base of around 1.2 million devices, and sports fans consume 37 million minutes of live content over our apps on any given weekend," Wright said. "This season, we've seen an overall 58 percent increase in customers streaming games. In some instances, more than twice the number of customers have streamed, compared to the same clash last year.
"As recent