Stuart Corner
Thursday, 13 December 2007 06:55
IT Industry -
Strategy
Page 1 of 2
Optus has named Huawei and Nokia Siemens Networks as the suppliers of its 3G network expansion announced in January, but is giving no details of their respective roles.
Optus said it would use a combination of 900MHz and 2100MHz frequencies to complete the network with the 900MHz range to be used primarily in rural and regional Australia where it provides greater range but lower traffic capacity than the 2100MHz band. "The combination of 900MHz and 2100MHz will lead to network rollout costs of up to $500 million instead of up to $800 million if built entirely at 2100MHz," Optus said.
When plans for the upgrade were
announced in January, Optus said it would be completed by mid 2010. Optus has now brought that forward to the end of 2008, the same timeframe as that for Vodafone's network expansion,
announced earlier in the week. CEO, Paul O'Sullivan, said: "The rollout is on track...the first phase of the extended upgrade is already complete, with areas in Newcastle and Wollongong in service today. Our 3G/HSPA network currently reaches 60 percent of the population, will reach around 80 percent of the population by June 2008 and is set for completion by December 2008 – 18 months ahead of schedule."
He said Optus had "adopted a multivendor strategy for mobile network deployments to drive better competitive and technical outcomes." The company has declined to provide any more details, such as whether there will be any geographic or frequency of operation distinction between the two vendors' roles or in the network components and/or services each will supply.
Nokia has been the sole supplier of Optus cellular infrastructure since it launched its 2G GSM service in 1992 (Nokia's cellular network infrastructure business is now part of Nokia Siemens Networks). Optus announced earlier this year that it had
successfully trialled Huawei's 900MHz equipment . In June Nokia Siemens Networks was
named as the supplier of Vodafone NZ's 900MHz 3G upgrade.
The upgraded Optus network will deliver data speeds up to 3.6Mbps via Optus Wireless Broadband modems and HSDPA enabled mobile phones. Telstra's Next G network operates at up to 7.2Mbps.
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