David Flynn11 December 2007, 11:58 AM
The mobile telco will expand its 3G network to almost double the current coverage, upgrade it to 14.4Mbps HSDPA with a 2Mbps uplink channel, and convert part of its GSM spectrum into a new long-throw regional 900MHz service with 3G technology
2008 is shaping up to be a great year for road warriors. We'll enter the new year with some of the toughest competition among carriers for your mobile broadband dollar. By the time Christmas arrives we'll have a new national network capable of delivering up to 14.4Mbps to 95% of the country - at least, that's the plan according to Vodafone.
In an unexpected escalation of the mobile wars, Vodafone has announced that it expand and upgrade its entire 3G network to 14.4Mbps HSDPA over the course of 2008. More radical still is the carrier's intention to repurpose some of its 900MHz GSM allocation to create an additional 3G-grade network which is intended to deliver mobile broadband to regional areas.
The current 2100MHz 3G-based mobile broadband network is rated at 3.6Mbps HSDPA and covers 55% of Australia's population. The 900MHz GSM service lifting the tally to 93% - but the extra coverage comes at a cost of data speeds that are little better than dial-up.
Andy Reeves, Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone Australia, says that the new combined 3G network - which will include HSDPA-upgraded base stations on both 2100MHz and 900MHz - will put 95% of Australia's population under the wing of a single mobile broadband service.
The 2100MHz 3G service will first be stepped up to 7.2Mbps, and then 14.4Mbps by year's end. Along the way, a dedicated 2Mbps uplink channel will be added using HSUPA, which is the upstream equivalent of HSDPA. "When we go to 7.2 we'll (also) have a 2Mbps HSUPA uplink" Gareth Simmons, Technology Business Manager for Vodafone Australia, told apcmag.com.
Unlike the current 3G network which was established as a joint venture between Vodafone and Optus, new base stations added to the expanded network will be fully owned and operated by Vodafone.
The 900MHz 3G service will be created by what Reeves called ‘refarming' part of the existing GSM allocation. "We re-apply to use it (for 3G), so there's a 3G overlay going on top of the 2G (GSM) network" Reeves explained. Reeves admitted that this was "a similar strategy" to Telstra's use of the low-band UHF allocation of 850MHz to carry its 3G-based Next G service.
Reeves is quick to point out that Vodafone isn't shutting down its GSM service. "We're not switching anything off. All the handsets will still work, and if you're a current 2G customer you'll get exactly the same (coverage) as today".
"But if you're a 3G customer and you've currently got 55% coverage, and you flick back to 2G when you go out of that 55% coverage zone, that's what were upgrading (to 3G). People who want mobile broadband outside of current 3G area will need a new handset or modem to access the 3G overlay on 900MHz".
While both the 3G-grade 2100MHz and 900MHz networks will run in parallel, they won't usually be operating in the same areas - despite the superior ability of the lower frequency 900MHz signals to soak through walls and travel deeper into buildings and car parks than 2100MHz.
"From an operator perspective 900 is better at covering longer distances, and 2100 is better at handling lots and lots of users" Reeves explains, "so we'll selectively roll out those separate frequencies as required. For more densely-populated areas we'll roll out 21, and the less densely-populated ares we'll roll out at 900".