Dan Warne30 March 2007, 7:19 AM
Mobile networks haven't taken the wireless broadband price challenge from Three X-Series lying down: Voda has today slashed its prices, while Optus has announced a network upgrade to HSDPA.
 Mac compatible: Vodafone has one up on Telstra: Mac compatibility for its USB HSDPA modem |
Vodafone and Optus have quickly reacted to the audacious
Three X-Series launch, with Voda slashing pricing and Optus announcing a network upgrade to 3.6Mbit/s HSDPA.
Vodafone's reduced monthly pricing is considerably improved but still behind Three X-Series: for example, $19.95 buys 100MB on Vodafone, while $20 buys 500MB on Three; $59.95 buys 1GB on Vodafone, but $60 buys 2GB on Three.
The main lure being used by Vodafone to win customers appears to be a free USB HSDPA modem (normally worth $349) for anyone who signs up to a 24 month contract on a plan above $59.95 a month.
Even people who aren't interested in the free modem will need to recontract with Vodafone for 12 months to get access to the improved monthly plan fees.
Optus has also unveiled a mobile network upgrade to HSDPA across 600 towers in Sydney and Melbourne, and the telco is promising its whole 3G footprint will be HSDPA by the end of May, providing 55 per cent population coverage.
It will then continue building the 3G network to cover 96 per cent of the Australian population from June onwards, for the next three years.
Optus is promising typical speeds of 500Kbit/s to 1.5Mbit/s, with a cell theoretical maximum of 3.6MBit/s.
Optus is running a promotion commencing May 2nd, offering an HSDPA USB modem that normally sells for $239 for $99 if a customer agrees to sign up to Optus Wireless Connect for 24 months.
However, Optus may find it has a hard sell to do because it lags in wireless broadband service pricing. Only Telstra is now more expensive, with Three and Vodafone having slashed their plan fees to well below Optus' current levels ($29.95 for 100MB, $39.95 for 200MB, $59.95 for 500MB or $129.95 for 1000MB.)
Optus spokesperson Luisa Ford said the company had "nothing to announce today" about repricing its service.
It's worth noting that both Vodafone and Optus can now offer Mac support for their wireless broadband products, something that is a sore point for Telstra, which has, as yet, been unable to source stable Mac-compatible drivers from its HSDPA modem supplier, Maxon.