UPDATED: 4G in Australia: The state of the nation
- 10 May, 2013 09:40
- Comments 7
Updated 10 May 2013: The top three Australian carriers are spending billions upgrading their networks to high-speed 4G LTE services. Customers are just starting to see the new plans and rollout is expected to intensify through the year and well into 2013.
Also see:
How fast are HSPA+ and LTE in Australia?
What is the Digital Dividend?
Telstra 4G
The No. 1 telco currently has a head start on 4G rollout, having launched LTE services in September 2011. In February, the telco reported that it has connected 1.5 million 4G devices.
The Telstra 4G network is currently available in 100 metropolitan and regional locations, including all capital CBDs. Telstra has said its network covers 40 per cent of Australia’s population. Telstra said it will cover two-thirds of the population by mid-2013 after it doubles coverage in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Telstra operates frequency-division (FD) LTE on the 1800 MHz spectrum band. Building out the 4G LTE network was a major piece of Telstra’s $3.6 billion spend in fiscal-year 2012. Over the next two years, Telstra has said it plans to invest $500 million, including on its mobile network.
Telstra spent $1.3 billion in April's Digital Dividend auction, taking most of the 700MHz and 2.5GHz spectrum available. It bought 2x20MHz of the 700MHz spectrum and 2x40MHz of the 2.5GHz. The spectrum is expected to increase the carrier's 4G coverage and capacity.
Some analysts say Telstra’s early rollout of LTE likely will keep the telco ahead of the competition. “With accelerated investment in the LTE network, we believe Telstra’s mobile rivals will find it difficult to challenge Telstra’s network superiority,” Ovum analyst David Kennedy said recently. “They will need to pursue strategies as `alternative’ providers to Telstra.”
Optus 4G
Optus has 4G coverage in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
On 10 January, Optus said it had more than 100 4G sites live across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The carrier has said it will add Adelaide in the first half of 2013. It turned on the first four sites there on 20 December. Optus expects to reach Canberra in March or April next year, however the network will use TD-LTE technology, which is currently compatible with fewer 4G devices.
The Optus 4G network currently runs on FD-LTE technology and operates in the 1800MHz spectrum band. However, Optus plans to roll out a Time-Division (TD) LTE 4G network in 2013 that it says is faster with higher throughput. “We are currently undertaking trials of the [TD LTE] network in Sydney, and our current 4G network will be integrated into our TD LTE rollout from 2013,” the Optus spokesperson said.
Optus reportedly plans to spend $2 billion over two years on 4G services in an effort to take on Telstra. Optus just completed a $230 million acquisition of the Vividwireless Group from Seven Group Holdings. The deal gives Optus access to 98MHz of spectrum in the 2.3GHz band for its TD LTE network.
Optus spent $649 million at April's Digital Dividend auction, half of what Telstra paid. It took 2x10MHz of the 700MHz spectrum and 2x20MHz of the 2.5GHz spectrum.
Meanwhile, several other companies have rolled out 4G plans riding on the Optus network, including Virgin Mobile, Exetel and iiNet.
Amaysim and Boost Mobile have said 4G services are on the way, however Amaysim CEO Rolf Hansen has said he's not sure 4G is a commercial "slam dunk." It's not clear what Boost Mobile's recent move to Telstra means for its 4G plans.
Vodafone 4G
Vodafone has announced plans to launch 4G in major metropolitan areas this June.
Vodafone plans to deploy 4G in stages, adding 2000 additional mobile sites this year. At the June launch, the telco will have most of its coverage in Sydney and Perth and "some coverage" in Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong, according to the Vodafone blog.
With hopes to reverse a customer exodus, Vodafone is investing $1 billion over two years on network upgrades.
While relatively late to the 4G game, Vodafone will deploy LTE over its existing 1800MHz channel and potentially have higher speeds than other carriers because it has 20MHz of spectrum in that band. The telco did not participate in the Digital Dividend auction.
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Comments
Nimos
1
and NBN Co?
They are also deploying 4G TD-LTE.
Jeremy
2
When are Telstra going to move to an Apple compatible 4G though?
Walter Leiska
3
I will not move to Telstra 4G network until I can use Apple products.
Steven
4
The iPhone 5 already works on Telstra 4G and the new 4th gen iPad will too (cellular models due late November). The only Apple "4G" product that doesn't work is the third gen iPad, due to the limited set of frequencies it supports for LTE. They have the same problem in the UK. The supported frequencies on the iPad 3 were basically selected to suit the US market, not the rest of the world.
john
5
Optus also has 4G in Adelaide CBD
Dennis
6
"When are Telstra going to move to an Apple compatible 4G though?"
Yeah, when are they going to re do their whole network for one model of Ipad?!
Come on Telstra, you should invest billions to make the apple clones happy!
Nathan
7
This post isn't really true to the fact. Optus has reported faster 4G speeds and has the largest 4G metro footprint in the country. Voda may have 20 mhz of Spectrum. It doesn't count as being anywhere near the spectrum available to Telstra and also Optus who hasn't even touched their 2300 spectrum with 98mhz untapped! Let's research a little better next time.