ITWire

Telstra currently provides LTE in all capital CBDs and more than 100 metropolitan and regional locations across the nation, about 40 percent of the population. The planned network expansion will see more than 1,000 new LTE base stations installed by mid 2013 increasing coverage to 66 percent of the population, Telstra says.

Telstra says there are now more than 340,000 LTE data only devices - dongles and WiFi hotspots - on the network and 160,000 LTE capable smartphones. Warwick Gray, Telstra's executive director Mobile, said: "Three years ago our smartphone penetration was 15 percent. It is now 50 percent of our postpaid base and nine out of 10 postpaid phones we sell is a smartphone.

"One in five smartphone owners say they intend to purchase a 4G device in the next year...We have five new 4G smartphones due to launch this calendar year. We expect that next year 80 percent of our mobile broadband devices we sell will be 4G and seven out of 10 handsets we sell will be HD." He declined to give any indication of when Telstra would introduce a prepaid LTE capable handset.

Telstra COO, Brendon Riley, said: "In our view over the next two years 4G [ie LTE] will become the dominant technology and in that time anyone considering a new device will increasingly be looking to acquire a 4G device...We believe Australia will be one of the most advanced 4G nations by June of next year.

"Our 4G network today is the only 4G network on which you can actually make a voice call and we have implemented 4G voice as part of our 4G solution and we expect that most 4G handsets will support HD voice.

In Brisbane Telstra plans to more than double LTE coverage. It wil extend from Brisbane Airport in the East to Indooroopilly in the West and from Coopers Plains in the South to Chermside in the North. Coverage is planned for the Gold Coast from Surfers Paradise in the East to Nerang in the West and from Tugun in the South to Hope Island in the North.

Coverage in Sydney will more than double to stretch from Manly in the East to Greystanes in the West and from Kogarah in the South to Hornsby in the North. Canberra will get coverage from Queanbeyan in the East to Duffy in the West and from Farrer in the South to Moncrieff in the North.

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