Telecom Lead Asia: Vodafone Australia has announced plans to commence 4G LTE roll out in early 2013.
Vodafone Australia also launched Dual Carrier HSPA+ services in key parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide and Newcastle.
The company’s recent $1.7 billion network upgrade has paid off. All base station sites are now equipped with the latest Vodafone 3G+ and 4G-ready network technology.
“Over the last two years, we’ve been working hard to upgrade the Vodafone network, and now have brand new equipment at every Vodafone base station across Australia,” explained Peter Ryan, General Manager Networks.
The company has expanded its network in association with joint venture Optus, resulting in enhanced network coverage of over 96 percent of the Australian population, from as early as April 2013.
Vodafone Australia signs telecom network sharing deal with rival Optus
The telecom network sharing deal between Vodafone Australia Optus will also enable them to jointly build hundreds of new mobile phone base stations.
The association between Vodafone and Optus is expected to challenge the dominant mobile player Telstra.
Meanwhile, industry experts feel the deal may attract the scrutiny of the competition watchdog. Optus is the Australia’s second-biggest telecom operator, while Optus is the third-largest.
Under Vodafone’s expanded network joint venture, the mobile operator will access around 400 Optus base station sites, with the two telcos set to build 500 more shared sites over the next four years.
editor@telecomlead.com