Australia’s third largest mobile carrier Vodafone Australia has launched its brand new 4G mobile phone network boasting speeds that are 15 times faster than the current 3G speeds.
According to Vodafone it is one of the first networks to offer speeds up to 100Mbps, though these speeds have varied in test environments depending on congestion , handset etc.
Since its soft launch in June , it is believed that there are now hundreds of thousands of existing Vodafone customers accessing the 4G network on more than 300 towers that have been equipped with 4G across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Newcastle , Gold Coast and Wollongong.
The 4G service is now available to new smartphone buyers and customers of other telcos – as a part of the plan designed to claw back market share from Telstra which acquired the bulk of discontented Vodafone customers.
Vodafone is aiming to triple the number of towers it has presently. It is aiming to have 1000 towers by the end of 2013.
The company has invested over AU$1 billion in overhauling its 3G network since then, and is now boasting Vodafone’s “spectrum advantage” in the 1800MHz band for its 4G network, where Vodafone has 2x20MHz of contiguous spectrum.
“Our current advantage is our spectrum”, said Benoit Hanssen, Vodafone’s chief network officer in a statement.
“Put simply, the wider the radio channel, the fatter the pipe, which translates into faster data speeds for customers. Vodafone is currently the only carrier that has this spectrum band in all five major mainland state capital cities,” he added.
As per the reviews speed ranging from 10 Mbps has been recorded in congested areas with a range up to 42Mbps.
Upload speeds range from 2Mbps in congested city areas to 21Mbps in residential areas.
Brief view of the places where 4G network will be available
NSW
South West: Liverpool, Miller, Prestons, Denham Court, Leppington, Hoxton Park, as well as other parts of the south west.
East: Eastgardens, Maroubra, Coogee Waverley, Randwick, Bondi, Bondi Beach and Double Bay as well as other parts of Sydney’s east.
North West: Pennant Hills, Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Acacia Gardens, Kings Park, Kellyville, as well as other parts of the north west.
Inner West: Annandale, Leichhardt, Birchgrove, Balmain, Marrickville, Hurlstone Park, Strathfield, Burwood, Croydon Park, Lidcombe and Chiswick includimg other parts of inner west.
Central Coast: Bateau Bay and Berkeley Vale.
West : Parramatta, Blacktown, Penrith, Orchard Hills, St Marys, Eastern Creek, Smithfield as well as other parts of Sydney’s west.
VIC :Melbourne, Chadstone, Fitzroy North, St Kilda Rd, Abbotsford, Southbank, Clayton, Cranbourne, Dandenong, Moonee Ponds, Calder, Melton, Hoppers Crossing, Albert Park, St Kilda, East Malvern, South Yarra, Richmond, Frankston and Tullamarine including others .
SA :Smithfield, Enfield, West Lakes, West Hindmarsh, Glenside.
WA : Suburbs in and around Perth including the CBD, Northbridge, Claremont, Karawara, Kiara, Tamala Park and Joondalup.
QLD : Suburbs in and around Brisbane, Gold Coast.
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