Vodafone Australia speeds up: changes - plan LTE 1800

Vodafone speeds up: changes

• A network capable of the fastest 4G speeds in 5 capital city areas of Australia
• 2,000 additional sites this year enhancing coverage 
• On-shoring customer contact against industry trends 
• Direct action against bill shock

Monday, 8 April, 2013, рress-release, via LTE-Depot. In the latest move toward earning back customers’ trust, Vodafone CEO, Bill

Morrow, today outlined further network improvements and, thanks to an industry-leading spectrum
position, announced the pending arrival of what will potentially be Australia’s fastest 4G network
across 5 capital cities.

Vodafone customers will be invited to join the company’s 4G network from June, with speeds capable
of exceeding what’s already on offer to Australian mobile consumers.

Outlining a staged roll-out to major metropolitan centres of Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, Wollongong, Newcastle and the Gold Coast, the new 4G service builds on the 3G and 3G+ network upgrades that have occurred over the past two years, showing speeds in test conditions of
downloads and streaming up to 15 times the average speed of the Vodafone 3G network of 1Mbps.

Morrow said customer feedback regarding a 4G service underpinned by a strong 3G service has guided Vodafone’s network build. “Our customers have said they want faster speeds, more coverage, and a dependable network,” he said.

“Our 3G+ and 4G technology provides them with the speed, and we will be adding nearly 2,000 additional sites this year to improve coverage for our customers where they need it most.

“We’ve picked up the pace and are sprinting to meet the current and future needs of our customers.

We are proud to be able to deliver our customers Australia’s fastest 4G network in metro areas backed by a solid 3G+ experience,” said Morrow.

Morrow detailed the raft of changes Vodafone has made to its business and its consumer offering in the past two years, articulating a vision for the future that is designed to win the hearts and minds of Australian mobile consumers.

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Source: http://www.vodafone.com.au/doc/VodafoneSpeedsUpChanges.pdf
More about Vodafone Australia: https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/country/australia/vodafone-4g

Vodafone Hutchison Australia may go stright to LTE1800

Vodafone Hutchison Australia may skip digital dividend auction. Company instead focus on rolling up LTE 1800 network. It is not decided yet, but it is possible.

"We have to weigh that against the current spectrum position we have, which is actually quite rich," Morrow said. "If you look at the depth of what we have at the 1800MHz level, we're in a far better position than any of the other two carriers and there is plenty of spectrum to use for LTE."
Although an LTE network in 700MHz spectrum will mean fewer base stations, Morrow said the company was prepared to install a few more base stations for 1800MHz, as it may ultimately end up being cheaper than forking out his estimate AU$900 million for the 700MHz spectrum.

New CEO Bill Morrow predicts the company will be able to offer LTE download speeds up to 150 Mbps.

"1800[MHz] for LTE is probably the most-deployed spectrum around the planet right now; that is going to have the best economies of scale," he said.

\zdnet.com

There is downward trend in the value of this spectrum in Western Europe discovered .

We can take in account 25 LTE 1800 commercial networks worldwide as well.

Seems we really got a trend? Still I guess that spectrum <1 GHz is very good for rural and remote LTE solutions, so the best for the operator is combined LTE system with the smart use of two or more frequency bands.