Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 11 December 2007 16:44
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 3
In the hype that preceded and followed the launch of 3G cellular services much of the focus was on its ability to support video calling. But it is mobile broadband access that Vodafone is touting as the key benefit of its just announced 3G network expansion.
Vodafone today announced that it would, like Optus, upgrade most or all of its 2G GSM network to 3G operation giving it coverage of 95 percent of the population (Optus' stated target is 96 percent and Telstra claims to cover more than 98 percent with Next G).
But check the spin that Vodafone put on this. The press release was headed "Vodafone plans to accelerate mobile broadband beyond the city limits, reaching 95 percent of the Australian population."
And it went on to quote CEO, Russell Hewitt as follows: "We're accelerating plans to upgrade our mobile network, which will provide our customers with faster download and upload speeds, better performance and improved services. Customers want fast, reliable access to mobile Internet content and emails on the go and they'll soon be able to experience a host of exciting, new content destinations." And further on, it added, almost as an afterthought, "The upgrade...will also improve network coverage and capacity for standard 2G and 3G voice calls."
The only conclusion I can draw from this is that, despite the fact that most of us would only rarely want to use mobile broadband outside metro areas the inability to offer it is a major disadvantage, and this is borne out by the significant price premium Telstra is able to charge for mobile broadband on Next G.
When Optus
announced its network expansion in January the 'spin' was very much about bringing competition to Telstra's Next G network, with CEO, Paul O'Sullivan saying: "Optus is taking a bold step to bring competitive third generation mobile communications technology to the vast majority of Australians...The incumbent thought that it could lock up regional Australia under a 3G monopoly. But Optus continues to build its business on bringing competition and improved products and services to customers...Today, competition in rural and regional Australia is weak, with the incumbent having substantial excess market share...History shows that when we focus on a new market, with new offers and real alternatives for customers, we can achieve our natural market share."
