Vodafone launches 4G network in ACT

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news Vodafone yesterday officially launched its high-speed 4G network in the ACT, as the first stage of what it described as its “comprehensive LTE rollout in Canberra”.

Suburbs which have 4G coverage switched on yesterday include parts of Acton, Civic, Crace, Downer, Franklin, Greenway, Harrison, Latham, Lyneham, Mitchell, Reid, Tuggeranong and Turner.

Vodafone’s Chief Technology Officer Benoit Hanssen said Vodafone had focused on creating a fast, reliable network in the ACT. “Vodafone’s 4G network is continuing to roll out around the country and we are pleased that we are able to offer fast, reliable 4G in the nation’s capital,” said Hanssen in a statement issued by the company..

“Last week we announced our first million 4G devices, a major milestone less than a year, a major milestone less than a year after we first switched on our first 4G site. We are adding more 4G sites every week around the country and our full rollout to the ACT is now underway.”

Hanssen said the challenge for mobile telecommunications engineers was configuring its networks to keep up with the every-growing demand for data.

“In one three-month period last year, Australians downloaded almost 20 million terabytes of data through their smartphone handsets alone, which is almost double the amount just one year before,” said Hanssen. “4G speeds are typically much faster than 3G, which means customers can download more – and we know they do as we’ve seen usage jump from our own customers when they make the switch.”

“Vodafone is committed to offering generous data inclusions to our customers and we’d encourage residents of the ACT to look at their current provider and see if they’re getting value for money.”

Vodafone also offers a Network Guarantee, which allows customers to try out the network for 30 days. If the customer isn’t satisfied with Vodafone’s 3G and 4G coverage, the customer is free to exit the contract without penalty and only paying for what they used. “I’m very confident customers who haven’t been with us in a while and those who have never tried Vodafone will be extremely satisfied with how our networks are performing today,” said Hanssen.

The news comes as a new series of independent tests recently showed Vodafone’s 4G network could easily beat the rival networks of Telstra and Optus, at least in capital cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, with the telco claiming the results show it is the best option for streaming content and general Internet surfing.

The Sydney Morning Herald published the results of extensive tests conducted on the 3G and 4G networks of the three telcos by OpenSignal (we recommend you click here for the full article). The test results, available online, show that when it comes to 4G speeds, the average download speeds achieved by Vodafone’s network was substantially faster than its rival pair of telcos, with the company’s 4G speeds in Sydney, for example, averaging 36.6Mbps, compared to Telstra’s 21.3Mbps and Optus’ 12.3Mbps. When it came to 3G speeds, the three telcos were more comparable.

Although the company’s 4G network performance is strong compared with its rivals, Vodafone still does not enjoy the same level of coverage around Australia compared with Telstra especially, which has the widest 4G coverage nationally, or even with Optus, which has also been continually deploying its 4G infrastructure around Australia over the past several years.