Telstra expands Next G coverage

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 06 October 2009 10:06

Business IT - Networking

Telstra claims that more than 100 locations around Australia now have mobile coverage for the first time as a result of the continuing expansion of the carrier's Next G 3G network.

Telstra has marked the third anniversary of the launch of its Next G mobile network with an announcement that it now provides service to more than 100 locations that previously had no mobile coverage.

 said since the launch on 6 October 2006, Telstra has continued its investment to expand and upgrade the Next G™ network each year.

"Since launch more than 1700 new Next G base stations have been added to the network, improving the breadth and depth of existing coverage and providing superior performance and customer satisfaction," said Telstra networks and services group managing director Michael Rocca.

"More than 100 of these base stations have introduced regional and rural customers to mobile coverage for the first time," he added.

The newly served locations include Jenolan Caves and Wollombi (NSW), Fergusson and Wadeye (NT), Manna Hill and Kingoonya (SA), Broadmarsh and Cradle Mountain (Tas), Lake Mountain and Dargo (Vic), Daintree and Phosphate Hill (Qld), and Marble Bar and Sunrise Dam (WA).

Telstra expects more than 270 sites will be established or improved by June 2010.

Despite various criticisms, most observers believe that Telstra's Next G provides the best coverage of all the Australian mobile networks, not merely in terms of proportion of the land mass covered but also in the quality of service within nominally served areas.

At launch, Next G was the geographically largest 3G network in the world, and with coverage of over 2.1 million square kilometres is still among the largest. More than 99% of the Australian population is covered by Next G, Telstra officials claimed.