National Parks trials preconfigured branch connectivity

The NSW Telco Authority and Optus have teamed up to deploy preconfigured networking hardware to difficult-to-reach NSW National Parks locations.

The focus of the “Office in a Box” is on getting NSW National Parks staff connected in locations that are often difficult to establish a connection to.

It gives the user the choice of 4G mobile, 5G mobile, satellite, or terrestrial connectivity.

An Optus spokesperson told iTnews that the other components in the box are a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) endpoint which Optus said provides a secure cloud connection.

Also included is a firewall, a wi-fi access point, and a backup battery if required.

The NSW Telco Authority said in a LinkedIn post the product is being trialled in the NSW Bents Basin State Conservation Area, located around 8km west of the outer Sydney suburb of Bringelly (a likely satellite-only location).

The authority described it as “a streamlined hardware solution that enables seamless connectivity within the office environment” that supports tools like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and Outlook.

“These experiments aim to address the connectivity divide in regional NSW by identifying regional digital challenges that can be resolved through emerging technologies and place-based solutions,” the Telco Authority said.