Advanced Television

Telstra accelerates 4G mobile service

September 11, 2014

Australians will soon have access to one of the fastest mobile networks in the world, with Telstra accelerating the launch of 4G services on the newly available 700 MHz band.

Telstra has revealed that it plans to:

– Expand total 4G coverage to reach 90 per cent of the Australian population by the end of January 2015.
– Switch on 4G on 700 MHz services on 1 January 2015 to cover a three kilometer radius of all capital CBDs and 50 regional locations.
– Expand commercial trials of 700M MHz services to more than 20 additional metropolitan and regional centers in the lead up to January, with selected areas of Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Bundaberg, Yamba and Sarina, to come online next week.
– Offer significantly faster 4G speeds than currently available on the Telstra mobile network to customers in enabled areas with 700 MHz compatible devices.
– Aim to have more than 1 million 700 MHz ready devices in customers’ hands by the end of year.

Chief Operations Officer Kate McKenzie said Telstra’s $1.3 billion investment to add 700 MHz and 2600 MHz spectrum to Telstra’s 4G service was a major investment designed to ensure customers continue to enjoy the best coverage, network reliability and consistently fast speeds as more activity, more people, and more devices come onto Telstra’s network.

“Our customers are relying on mobile broadband more than ever. The explosion in applications, shift towards mobile video consumption and use of mobile in commerce means demand for connectivity continues to grow strongly,” McKenzie said.

“We’re staying ahead of this demand by using the 700 MHz band and aggregation techniques to massively increase network capacity. This will allow us to offer customers, with compatible devices, Australia’s best and most reliable mobile service.”

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Mobile, Satellite