TransACT
Encyclopedia
TransACT Capital Communications is an Australian telecommunications company based in Canberra
which provides broadband
internet access, fixed telephony, cable television
services, and mobile phone services in Canberra and a subset of these services in Queanbeyan, throughout South-east New South Wales
and in Victoria
.
The company was part-owned by Actew Corporation a 50% joint venture partner in ActewAGL
(the main energy and water utility company in the Australian Capital Territory
) and since February 2004 TransACT has contracted many of their administrative and marketing functions to ActewAGL.
One of the distinguishing features of the business model was the adoption of an Open Access Network
or OAN philosophy - many years before this approach attracted widespread interest around the world.
The National Broadband Network
or NBN is also modelled on similar OAN philosophy separating the wholesale and retail businesses.
TransACT operates the open network in collaboration with ten ISPs. These include a mix of large national organisations and smaller local operations. One of the ISPs (Grapevine) which was previously owned by both TransACT and ActewAGL
has been taken on-board by TransACT as a wholly owned subsidiary in March 2010.
The company has an extensive fibre network in the ACT. SDH, ATM
and IP/MPLS Metro Ethernet
technologies are used to deliver services via dedicated hubs or gateways that are build around the region. Services are delivered to various businesses, government departments and residential customers via a diverse range of Access network
s.
The first broadband platform rolled out known as Phase 1 network was based on FTTC (fibre to the curb) design with nodes being placed within 300 metres of premises. SDH backbone is used to transport voice, data and video whereas VDSL technology is used as the access network to get a customers connected to TransACT's high speed broadband and digital TV services. Coincidentally, TransACT also became the first telco in Australia to implement this particular high speed broadband technology much superior to ADSL which was prominent throughout the country at that time. TransACT remains as the only telco to support VDSL and the products are still actively sold with network reach-ability to over 55,000 homes in the ACT.
The Phase 2 roll-out involved TransACT placing its own DSLAM equipment within Telstra
exchanges and utilising their own fibre-optic backhaul
to their main data centre in Dickson
, ACT. TransACT completed their ADSL 2/2+ rollout on 1 March 2007. The Phase 2 network is available to anyone outside of Phase 1 with a Telstra phone line in Canberra and Queanbeyan, as long as they are within sufficient distance of their telephone exchange - as with any ADSL service.
In 2009, TransACT again became one of the very first providers in the world to commence greenfield roll-out and upgrade of existing VDSL access network to VDSL2, the most advanced and fastest digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband technology commercially available, commencing with a number of medium- to high-density developments in Canberra’s more established suburbs.
The upgrade increases broadband speeds by up to four times, compared to the fastest existing ADSL2+ networks used by most carriers. As with the existing VDSL network, VDSL2 products also include triple-play
services.
By mid 2009, multiples sites including The Avenue on Northbourne Avenue, Skyplaza in Woden and The Gateway at Kingston Foreshore were upgraded to VDSL2 with more projects currently under-way.
The telco is the first in the country to build a dedicated G.984
(GPON) based FTTH or FTTP gateway and also the first provider in Australia to offer broadband
services at up to 100Mbit/s download and 20Mbit/s upload speeds which were made available on 4 September 2009 . The gateway build in the suburb of Forde close to the Gungahlin township trunks back to TransACT's core network in Dickson via a high-bandwidth MPLS
backbone . With such infrastructure in place, TransACT is able to offer triple-play
services to customers via fibre without the need for any copper in the path thus, enabling higher bit-rates. Similar PON technology and network hierarchy has been chosen by NBNco Limited, the company established in 2009 to design, build and operate the National Broadband Network
As end of 2009, five new greenfield suburbs namely Forde
, Franklin
, Crace
, Casey
, Bonner
, some parts of Kingston
and the Flemington road corridor were all wired-up for this next generation technology with many new suburbs expected to come on-board in the ACT region. As of mid-2010, the total number of premises passed-through has reached almost 11,000.
TransACT also offers a range of wholesale services to business and ISP customers, including Colocation
, IP transit, Peering
, data centre services, VPN, Managed services
, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint
services including VPWS and VPLS services of up to 1 Gbit/s for customers anywhere on their network.
In July 2010, the telco launched the 'eHub' Australia's first commercial IPTV
product bundled with a feature-rich set-top box capable of handling High-definition video
with an on-board Personal video recorder.
At the end of 2007 the company acquired the regional Victoria telecommunications company Neighbourhood Cable
.
TransACT is the naming rights sponsor of the TransACT Canberra Capitals
, a Canberra team competing in the Women's National Basketball League
(WNBL) from October to February each year.
TransACT first sponsored the Capitals in 2000, when the new company was looking for a community partner.
based in Canberra
, Australia
, wholly owned by TransACT. It provides dial-up and broadband
ISP services, delivered across the TransACT fibre-optic broadband network.
The company had its beginning in ActewAGL Net Connect, a wholly owned subsidiary of ActewAGL
, that started in 2003. In April 2005, it was relaunced as Grapevine that was jointly owned by ActewAGL, the main utility company in the region, and TransACT until May 2010 when ActewAGL sold its share of Grapevine to TransACT.
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
which provides broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
internet access, fixed telephony, cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
services, and mobile phone services in Canberra and a subset of these services in Queanbeyan, throughout South-east New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
The company was part-owned by Actew Corporation a 50% joint venture partner in ActewAGL
ActewAGL
ActewAGL is Australia's first multi-utility to offer electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater services in a single organisation. At the time of its formation it was the only multi-utility of its kind in Australia....
(the main energy and water utility company in the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
) and since February 2004 TransACT has contracted many of their administrative and marketing functions to ActewAGL.
Company
The development of TransACT's vision and business plan commenced in 1996, led by a small team comprising Robin Eckermann (Chief Architect), Joe Ceccato, Robert Clarke and Jane Taylor, working under the guidance of ACTEW Executive Neville Smith.One of the distinguishing features of the business model was the adoption of an Open Access Network
Open Access Network
An open-access network refers to a horizontally layered network architecture in telecommunications, and the business model that separates the physical access to the network from the delivery of services. In an OAN, the owner or manager of the network does not supply services for the network; these...
or OAN philosophy - many years before this approach attracted widespread interest around the world.
The National Broadband Network
National Broadband Network
The National Broadband Network is a national wholesale-only, open-access data network under development in Australia. Up to one gigabit per second connections are sold to retail service providers , who then sell Internet access and other services to consumers...
or NBN is also modelled on similar OAN philosophy separating the wholesale and retail businesses.
TransACT operates the open network in collaboration with ten ISPs. These include a mix of large national organisations and smaller local operations. One of the ISPs (Grapevine) which was previously owned by both TransACT and ActewAGL
ActewAGL
ActewAGL is Australia's first multi-utility to offer electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater services in a single organisation. At the time of its formation it was the only multi-utility of its kind in Australia....
has been taken on-board by TransACT as a wholly owned subsidiary in March 2010.
The company has an extensive fibre network in the ACT. SDH, ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
and IP/MPLS Metro Ethernet
Metro Ethernet
A Metro Ethernet is a computer network that covers a metropolitan area and that is based on the Ethernet standard. It is commonly used as a metropolitan access network to connect subscribers and businesses to a larger service network or the Internet...
technologies are used to deliver services via dedicated hubs or gateways that are build around the region. Services are delivered to various businesses, government departments and residential customers via a diverse range of Access network
Access network
An access network is that part of a telecommunications network which connects subscribers to their immediate service provider. It is contrasted with the core network, which connects local providers to each other...
s.
The first broadband platform rolled out known as Phase 1 network was based on FTTC (fibre to the curb) design with nodes being placed within 300 metres of premises. SDH backbone is used to transport voice, data and video whereas VDSL technology is used as the access network to get a customers connected to TransACT's high speed broadband and digital TV services. Coincidentally, TransACT also became the first telco in Australia to implement this particular high speed broadband technology much superior to ADSL which was prominent throughout the country at that time. TransACT remains as the only telco to support VDSL and the products are still actively sold with network reach-ability to over 55,000 homes in the ACT.
The Phase 2 roll-out involved TransACT placing its own DSLAM equipment within Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
exchanges and utilising their own fibre-optic backhaul
Backhaul (telecommunications)
In a hierarchical telecommunications network the backhaul portion of the network comprises the intermediate links between the core network, or backbone, of the network and the small subnetworks at the "edge" of the entire hierarchical network...
to their main data centre in Dickson
Dickson, Australian Capital Territory
Dickson is a suburb in the Inner North of Canberra, Australia. It is named after Sir James Dickson who was a Queensland advocate of Australian Federation and one of the founders of the Australian Constitution...
, ACT. TransACT completed their ADSL 2/2+ rollout on 1 March 2007. The Phase 2 network is available to anyone outside of Phase 1 with a Telstra phone line in Canberra and Queanbeyan, as long as they are within sufficient distance of their telephone exchange - as with any ADSL service.
In 2009, TransACT again became one of the very first providers in the world to commence greenfield roll-out and upgrade of existing VDSL access network to VDSL2, the most advanced and fastest digital subscriber line (DSL) broadband technology commercially available, commencing with a number of medium- to high-density developments in Canberra’s more established suburbs.
The upgrade increases broadband speeds by up to four times, compared to the fastest existing ADSL2+ networks used by most carriers. As with the existing VDSL network, VDSL2 products also include triple-play
Triple play (telecommunications)
In telecommunications, triple play service is a marketing term for the provisioning of two bandwidth-intensive services, high-speed Internet access and television, and a less bandwidth-demanding service, telephone, over a single broadband connection. Triple play focuses on a combined business...
services.
By mid 2009, multiples sites including The Avenue on Northbourne Avenue, Skyplaza in Woden and The Gateway at Kingston Foreshore were upgraded to VDSL2 with more projects currently under-way.
The telco is the first in the country to build a dedicated G.984
G.984
ITU-T Recommendation G.984 is a family of recommendations that defines gigabit passive optical networks for telecommunications access networks...
(GPON) based FTTH or FTTP gateway and also the first provider in Australia to offer broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
services at up to 100Mbit/s download and 20Mbit/s upload speeds which were made available on 4 September 2009 . The gateway build in the suburb of Forde close to the Gungahlin township trunks back to TransACT's core network in Dickson via a high-bandwidth MPLS
Multiprotocol Label Switching
Multiprotocol Label Switching is a mechanism in high-performance telecommunications networks that directs data from one network node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses, avoiding complex lookups in a routing table. The labels identify virtual links between...
backbone . With such infrastructure in place, TransACT is able to offer triple-play
Triple play (telecommunications)
In telecommunications, triple play service is a marketing term for the provisioning of two bandwidth-intensive services, high-speed Internet access and television, and a less bandwidth-demanding service, telephone, over a single broadband connection. Triple play focuses on a combined business...
services to customers via fibre without the need for any copper in the path thus, enabling higher bit-rates. Similar PON technology and network hierarchy has been chosen by NBNco Limited, the company established in 2009 to design, build and operate the National Broadband Network
National Broadband Network
The National Broadband Network is a national wholesale-only, open-access data network under development in Australia. Up to one gigabit per second connections are sold to retail service providers , who then sell Internet access and other services to consumers...
As end of 2009, five new greenfield suburbs namely Forde
Forde, Australian Capital Territory
Forde is a northern suburb of the Canberra, Australia district of Gungahlin. It is named in honour of Frank Forde, a politician who was Prime Minister of Australia for a week in 1945 following the death of John Curtin. Forde is adjacent to the suburbs of Amaroo, Throsby and Bonner. It is bounded...
, Franklin
Franklin, Australian Capital Territory
Franklin is a suburb of Canberra, Australia in the district of Gungahlin. It is named after the novelist Miles Franklin. The streets in Franklin are named after writers. It comprises an area of approximately 256 hectares...
, Crace
Crace, Australian Capital Territory
Crace is a designated suburb of Canberra, Australia in the district of Gungahlin. It was named after Edward Kendall Crace an original settler in the Gungahlin area. Streets in Crace will be named after parishes and land divisions from colonial times. It is bounded by the Barton Highway, Gungahlin...
, Casey
Casey, Australian Capital Territory
Casey is a suburb in Canberra, Australia , approximately 4 km from the Gungahlin Town Centre and about 13 km from the centre of Canberra. The suburb is named after Richard Casey, Baron Casey an Australian politician, diplomat and later the 16th Governor-General of Australia. It is bound...
, Bonner
Bonner, Australian Capital Territory
Bonner is a planned suburb in the district of Gungahlin in Canberra. The suburb is named in memory after Senator Neville Bonner, Australia's first Indigenous parliamentarian who served the people of Queensland during the years 1971-1984...
, some parts of Kingston
Kingston, Australian Capital Territory
Kingston is the oldest and most densely populated suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The suburb is named after Charles Cameron Kingston, the former Premier of South Australia and minister in the first Australian Commonwealth Government. It is adjacent to the suburbs of...
and the Flemington road corridor were all wired-up for this next generation technology with many new suburbs expected to come on-board in the ACT region. As of mid-2010, the total number of premises passed-through has reached almost 11,000.
TransACT also offers a range of wholesale services to business and ISP customers, including Colocation
Colocation centre
A colocation centre or colocation center , is a type of data centre where equipment space and bandwidth are available for rental to retail customers...
, IP transit, Peering
Peering
In computer networking, peering is a voluntary interconnection of administratively separate Internet networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic between the customers of each network. The pure definition of peering is settlement-free or "sender keeps all," meaning that neither party pays the...
, data centre services, VPN, Managed services
Managed services
Managed services is the practice of transferring day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations inclusive of Production Support and lifecycle build/maintenance activities...
, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint
Point-to-multipoint
Point-to-multipoint communication is a term that is used in the telecommunications field which refers to communication which is accomplished via a specific and distinct type of one-to-many connection, providing multiple paths from a single location to multiple locations.Point-to-multipoint is often...
services including VPWS and VPLS services of up to 1 Gbit/s for customers anywhere on their network.
In July 2010, the telco launched the 'eHub' Australia's first commercial IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
product bundled with a feature-rich set-top box capable of handling High-definition video
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
with an on-board Personal video recorder.
At the end of 2007 the company acquired the regional Victoria telecommunications company Neighbourhood Cable
Neighbourhood Cable
Neighbourhood Cable is a telecommunications provider based in regional Victoria, Australia . Neighbourhood Cable owns and operates Hybrid Fibre Coaxial cable networks in three Victorian regional cities:* Mildura* Ballarat* Geelong...
.
TransACT is the naming rights sponsor of the TransACT Canberra Capitals
Canberra Capitals
The Canberra TransACT Capitals are an Australian Women's Basketball League team based in Canberra, Australia. TransACT Communications is the current naming rights sponsor for the Canberra Capitals...
, a Canberra team competing in the Women's National Basketball League
Women's National Basketball League
The Women's National Basketball League is the pre-eminent women's professional basketball league in Australia. It currently is composed of ten teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Basketball League...
(WNBL) from October to February each year.
TransACT first sponsored the Capitals in 2000, when the new company was looking for a community partner.
Grapevine
Grapevine is an internet service providerInternet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
based in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, wholly owned by TransACT. It provides dial-up and broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
ISP services, delivered across the TransACT fibre-optic broadband network.
The company had its beginning in ActewAGL Net Connect, a wholly owned subsidiary of ActewAGL
ActewAGL
ActewAGL is Australia's first multi-utility to offer electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater services in a single organisation. At the time of its formation it was the only multi-utility of its kind in Australia....
, that started in 2003. In April 2005, it was relaunced as Grapevine that was jointly owned by ActewAGL, the main utility company in the region, and TransACT until May 2010 when ActewAGL sold its share of Grapevine to TransACT.