Melbourne will get 100Mbps by Christmas: Telstra

Melbourne homes will be able to access hybrid fibre/coax broadband at 100Mbps with Telstra's network upgrades, the telco says. Photo / Visions of Victoria

Telstra said it will begin upgrading its capital cities cable broadband networks, starting with Melbourne.

The company its hybrid fibre coaxial cable broadband network in Melbourne will be upgraded to 100Mbps - more than triple the current peak speed - by Christmas as part of a A$300 ($390) million this calendar year.

"Using new technology already successfully deployed in several cable networks overseas, Telstra will immediately begin work to turbo-charge its five-city cable network," the company said in a statement.

Telstra's cable network passes 2.5 million homes in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

"Cable, along with Telstra's other fixed-line infrastructure, will be a key driver of next generation broadband in Australia, as it is around the world," Telstra said.

"This cable upgrade will position Telstra to deliver on its vision of a world-class fixed-line infrastructure that complements our world-leading Next G mobile broadband network in delivering services that meet our customers needs."

Work will start immediately on the Melbourne cable network.

Telstra said while the upgrade will increase the peak download speeds in Melbourne homes to 100Mbps, further upgrades to speeds of up to 200Mbps were possible.

- AAP