May date for Vodafone 3G bush launch
By Suzanne Tindal on 24 March 2009
Vodafone has announced firm dates on the completion of its 3G roll-out, which had been delayed last year due to problems with its supplier Ericsson.
The telco said it was in the final stages of testing its 3G network in major regional centres, which would go live during the first week in May, bringing Vodafone's 3G coverage up to 80 per cent of Australians.
The upgrade expands 3G services to Vodafone customers in areas including Albury-Wodonga, Ballarat, Ballina, Bunbury, Byron Bay, Cairns, Darwin, Hobart, Kiama, Lismore, Mackay, Newcastle, Toowoomba, Townsville, Wollongong, Bowral, Nowra and Wagga Wagga.
The rest of Vodafone's customers in 2G coverage areas will see the faster services by 31 August, when Vodafone plans to have reached 94 per cent of the population with 3G.
This was less than the original target of 95 per cent. A spokesperson said that as the company got closer to launch, testing and tuning had led it to get a more accurate estimate. "We wanted to be transparent," the spokesperson said.
The $500 million roll-out was originally scheduled to be completed by Christmas last year, but in October Vodafone came out with the news that the program would be delayed by months. The portion of the network which it shared with Optus — 63 per cent of the planned coverage — had been completed but the part which Vodafone was rolling out alone was not.
The delay was laid at Ericsson's door, with Vodafone CTO Andy Reeves saying that it was taking the vendor longer than originally anticipated to complete the project.
With the end of the upgrade now in sight, Reeves justified the delays. "It's always a race against time to bring major upgrades to market as soon as possible, but it's even more important to get it right first time and minimise disruptions to normal services," he said. "We've managed the project in a pragmatic way to ensure quality and continuity of coverage for our customers throughout the upgrade project."
Topics: vodafone, upgrade, optus, reeves, 3g, roll out, cent
Related Articles
Comments
-
DanielL 24/03/2009 Report abuse
how will this affect the three merger?
Post your own comment
Enter your personal information to the left, or sign in with your Facebook account by clicking the button below.
ConnectMost Popular
-
Telstra Next G Prepaid Broadband
Telstra's prepaid wireless broadband offering is good for casual browsers...
-
Telstra Turbo 21 modem
Telstra's Turbo 21 delivered the fastest wireless broadband experience...
-
Netcomm NB9W ADSL2+ Wireless Broadband Modem router with VoIP Gateway
The NB9W is a solid performer, combining a modem, router and VoIP gateway...
-
May date for Vodafone 3G bush launch
Vodafone has announced firm dates on the completion of its 3G roll-out,...
-
Telstra to upgrade cable broadband network
Telstra intends to invest $300 million this year to upgrade its hybrid...