Finally, HSDPA from Optus

Stuart Corner
Friday, 30 March 2007 10:24

Your IT - Home IT

Optus wil be the last of Australia's mobile carriers to launch HSDPA: it announced this week that the service will go live by May in Sydney and Melbourne by end of May.

By the end of June 2006 Optus says it will have HSDPA coverage of its entire 3G network. It announced earlier this year  plans to extend the network to 96 percent of the population over three years, and says this network wil also be HSDPA enabled.

Henry Calvert, acting director Optus products & delivery, said "Optus customers will experience download speeds averaging 500Kbps to 1.5Mbps and network capability of up to 3.6Mbps initially with the potential to rise up to 14.4Mbps." However Optus did not indicate when this upgrade would become available.

Optus has 15 3G mobile handsets in its current range, three of which are HSDPA capable (Motorola V3xx, Dopod 838 and Dopod 810) and two Optus Wireless Connect data cards (PCMCIA and USB. Optus will offer a USB modem for $99 on a 24 month contract, discounted from the usual price of $239, from 2 May to 1 June 2007.