Paul Wright16 July 2007, 7:19 AM
Optus was the last company to enter the HSDPA market and has not spent much time hyping it as the other carriers have done.
Optus was the last company to enter the HSDPA market and has not spent much time hyping it as the other carriers have done.
However, it is now spending $800million to roll out a nationwide HSDPA network with 96 per cent population coverage by 2010, so it's fair to say the best is yet to come!
It is about to turn on HSDPA across its existing 3G network, too -- it should be happening within weeks.
Currently, Optus covers all capital cities and some other selected areas, but only has 3G coverage equal to Vodafone -- 7,500 square kilometres. (Its new $800million network will cover 650,000 square kilometres.)
When using the network outside Optus 3G areas, you will roam back to GPRS on their 2G network with sub-dialup modem speeds. At least roaming is at no extra cost, but it is frustratingly slow.
Optus has a unique product offering using specialised Mobile IP software to allow you to seamlessly roam between your home Wifi connection, 3G/GPRS/HSDPA and Optus wireless hotspots, which is particularly useful when you're at an airport.
This enables you to move from one type of connection to another with out dropping the connection, though one does have to wonder how many people would actually have their laptop on and operating when moving from a hotspot to 3G coverage.
One little-known fact about the Optus 3G network is that it offers a much faster upload speed when you're on their 3G network: 384Kbit/s, while the other networks limit it to 64Kbit/s.
Optus does not encourage the use of wireless data through your mobile phone above 100mb and instead pushes customers to a separate USB modem or mobile card with their customer software.
You can join month-to-month, or you can signup on a 12 month or 24 month contract and get a discounted USB modem or wireless card for your laptop.
Considering the small footprint of Optus's 3G network in comparison to NextG, it's odd that Optus has similar prices to Telstra. As a result, consumer takeup for Optus Wireless Broadband is probably quite small, especially since Optus appears to be marketing it mainly at businesses.
Optus does offer Wireless Data on its prepaid mobile product at a cost of $5.50 per MB, which can be included under the Turbo Charge additional credit (pay $30, get $120 of credit), but it's a costly option for anything more then casual use.
You will need a 3G enabled SIM card to take advantage of HSDPA, otherwise you will only receive GPRS dialup modem-like speeds.
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