Vodafone Australia is in the final stages of testing and tuning its high speed 3G network in major regional centres, with the network to go live in the first week of May 2009. 
 

Andy Reeves, Vodafone Australia’s chief technology officer said today customers in all other existing Vodafone 2G coverage areas throughout Australia would have Vodafone 3G services by the end of August.
 
According to Reeves, Vodafone’s national network upgrade will generate greater competition in the telecommunication market and provide greater choice for more Australian customers.

“It’s great news for Vodafone customers, and we will continue to invest in the network to provide high quality service when and where it’s needed most.

“It’s always a race against time to bring major upgrades to market as soon as possible, but it’s even more important to get it right first time and minimise disruptions to normal services. We’ve managed the project in a pragmatic way to ensure quality and continuity of coverage for our customers throughout the upgrade project.”

Reeves confirmed that, following the upgrade in May, its 3G coverage would reach 80 per cent of the Australian population, and when the second stage of the upgrade was completed, coverage would extend to reach over 94 per cent of the population.