Telstra Picks Ericsson to Launch TDN-I Managed Wireless Solution

Telstra Enterprise and Ericsson have announced the first Australian deployment of Telstra Dedicated Networks – Industrial (TDN-I) managed wireless solution.

This fully managed service offers customers a private network experience without the upfront costs of building towers, whilst also enjoying the benefits of Telstra’s spectrum with guaranteed bandwidth. This new capability is tailored specifically for critical infrastructure and operations across Australia that require a modern private cellular network experience.

This exciting rollout of TDN-I is enabling one of Australia’s largest oil and gas companies to accelerate its digitisation ambitions by providing highly reliable connectivity for its robotic services for remote inspections, and advanced data capture and processing of AI models at the edge for predictive operations and hazard removal.

TDN-I is a fully managed service utilising a dedicated partition of Telstra’s public mobile network with a dedicated on-site Ericsson private cellular core that customers can easily control and administer to deliver a wireless network experience.

As a managed service, customers no longer have to mobilise a dedicated team to manage their network, and leveraging public network infrastructure reduces the carbon footprint that would have been created if customers had installed a private network instead.

TDN-I enables prioritisation of service across different vehicles, machines, tools and workers, and allows customers to process critical workloads close to operations, whilst having the reassurance of a 24/7 managed service.

Ben Kingston, Telstra’s General Manager of Operational Technology & Industrial Networks said, “TDN-I drives speed-to-value for customers as they embark on their Industry 5.0 transformation by reducing complexity, effort and up-front capital costs normally associated with building a private network.”

“Gaining access to licenced cellular spectrum has been a pain-point for enterprise customers wishing to accelerate digitisation of their services. TDN-I helps solve this problem by using Telstra’s own licenced spectrum assets. For critical infrastructure customers, and customers in rural and remote communities, TDN-I addresses backhaul resiliency by providing an on-site network core and local backhaul that is connected to the local Radio Access Network (RAN). This delivers full remote survivability as well as latency improvements,” he added.

Telstra is in discussion with customers about a broad range of uses for TDN-I, including Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), surveillance drones, high-bandwidth video cameras, sensors for process and environmental monitoring, remote vehicle control, and connected worker use cases.

TDN-I’s highly reliable wireless coverage, predictable SLA-based connectivity performance and configurable service prioritisation makes it well suited to various industries such as logistics, mining, energy, oil & gas, ports, utilities, and large-scale manufacturing.

TDN-I rounds out Telstra’s industrial networking portfolio with customers able to take advantage of private, hybrid and public 5G infrastructure solutions, dependent on their technology and operational requirements. TDN-I is supported by Aqura, a Telstra Purple company, providing industry expertise and professional services.

“We’re proud that our continued network investment has offered this Australian-first to our local industries. TDN-I is a transformational wireless product for critical infrastructure and industry that provides even greater access to our world-class mobile network,” said Mr Kingston.

Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand, said, "Ericsson is proud to support Telstra in delivering this innovative wireless solution to meet the needs of Australian industrial and enterprise customers.”

“By leveraging Ericsson’s private cellular network core, Telstra’s customers can deploy advanced connectivity solutions with minimal complexity. This innovation empowers critical industries across Australia to enhance operational resilience, improve safety, and accelerate digital transformation through reliable, high-performance private network capabilities."