3 completes metro HSDPA upgrade

Adam Turner
Tuesday, 27 March 2007 09:54

IT Industry - Strategy

Australian wireless network provider 3 has completed the high speed upgrade its network, which is now HSDPA-enabled across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Canberra, Perth and Adelaide.

Customers with HSDPA mobiles or data cards on Hutchison's 3 network can expect typical download speeds ranging from 600 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps, with a theoretical maximum download speed of up to 3.6 Mbps.

To coincide with the announcement, 3 has unveiled free Skype calls, fixed line-like pricing for wireless data and a partnership with iiNet as part of its X-Series suite of services.

The X-Series suite of services are initially available with the N73 and E65 from Nokia and two HSDPA-enabled mobiles - the DoPod 810 and the LGU830.  Further mobiles will be announced shortly. Pricing ranges from $20 per month for a 500 MB download allowance and a 1000 minutes of Skype calls to $40 for 2 GB per month and 4000 minutes of Skype calls.