Telstra deploys 3,500 Panasonic Toughbooks
Telstra has deployed 3,500 Panasonic Toughbook CF-18 notebooks to
field engineers across the country in a multi-million dollar deal. The
Panasonic Toughbooks will be used to log and track daily repairs and
service requirements.
The roll-out represents the largest ever installation of ruggedised
notebooks in the Australian telecommunications industry.
The Panasonic Toughbooks replace the incumbent pocket PC units used
by Telstra field engineers, providing them with increased mobility,
productivity and uptime in all environments and weather conditions. Each
Toughbook has ruggedised features designed to prevent damage
occurring in harsh outdoor working environments and has a swivel LCD
design that converts from a notebook to a rugged touchscreen Tablet PC.
The Toughbooks are customised with an integrated CDMA1x modem and
Telstra software, enabling engineers to work effectively, even in the most
remote locations in Australia. Panasonic Toughbook integration partner
Marknet Technologies individually staged and configured all units to
Telstra requirements.
Prior to selecting the Panasonic Toughbooks, Telstra conducted a detailed
needs analysis to determine the organisation’s precise requirements.
During this process, hardware solutions from several major vendors were
assessed against key selection criteria. One of these criteria was total
cost of ownership (TCO) - an area in which the Toughbook was judged to
have particular strengths over competitors. A low TCO delivered through
the ruggedised Toughbook’s superior all-environment operational
capabilities led Telstra to select it as the most suitable solution for their
field engineers.
Commenting on the decision by Telstra to select the Toughbook CF-18,
Steve Hall, Group Manager, Toughbook, Panasonic Australia said:
“This solution strongly supports Telstra’s commitment to customer service.
Interruptions to engineers’ work schedules caused by computer-related
issues in the field can have an enormous impact, and we believe that
using a ruggedised solution instead of standard notebooks will reduce
this by as much as 90 per cent.
“In calculating the TCO of Panasonic’s Toughbook, Telstra took into
account all costs incurred when a unit fails in the field. These included
human resources needed, the replacement unit cost, the turnaround time
for re-configuration and return to the field and most importantly, the
potential effect on customer service levels due to the engineer’s
downtime. After conducting analysis along these lines, the Toughbook
CF-18 was a clear winner.
“Panasonic’s Toughbooks are designed specifically to endure harsh
outdoor working environments, in conditions that are beyond the
capabilities of normal laptops. That is why they are used by the military,
telecommunications companies and utilities worldwide,” Steve Hall said.
According to Alan Olden, Head of Metro Service, Telstra, “Panasonic’s
Toughbook is a hardware solution that will enhance the capabilities of
Telstra’s field engineers for a significantly longer period of time than a
standard laptop or pocket PC.
“Telstra’s analysis of technology solutions has shown that by investing in
ruggedised hardware, we can expect a lower failure rate in the field, which
results in a lower TCO in the long term through increased productivity
and uptime.
“Based on initial feedback from our field engineers, we expect that the
Panasonic Toughbook CF-18 will deliver significant benefits to users and
to the organisation. All units offer high tolerance for harsh field conditions,
and have inbuilt CDMA1x data capability, giving users full wireless
capability to access the internet, email and Telstra applications essential
for field operations.
“Field trials of the Toughbooks have been extremely successful. Engineers
were very impressed with the unit’s
combination of robust features and
compact size, and found the touch
screen very convenient to use.
Another reported benefit of the unit
in the field is that applications that
used to take one and a half minutes
to load onto a pocket PC can be
downloaded to a Toughbook in
around two seconds. In addition,
field engineers have reported major
improvements over the pocket PCs
in terms of battery life, with the
Toughbook’s battery lasting two to
three times longer than a standard
laptop battery,” Alan Olden added.
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