Optus opening up 4G to 200 new Australian markets

Optus is set to expand its 4G network to cover 200 new areas over the next 6 months. The locations, ranging from rural to holiday destinations, will be able to enjoy download speeds over mobile broadband that far exceed that of any landline ADSL2+ connection.

The telco will be using its new-found access to the 700MHz and 2600MHz spectrums, which it will be able to implement as of this month, except for in WA where Optus customers will have to wait until February 2016 and January 2015 respectively for each frequency band.

Ballarat, Cairns, Port Macquarie, Port Augusta and a further 30 locations will go live with Optus 4G this week with the 2600MHz band. The 700MHz, which should provide superior speeds and coverage, is planned to follow soon.

Will my phone run 4G?

Not many phones in the Aussie market work with 700MHz network yet. Generally only newer phones will be able to benefit from it.

The 2600MHz band, however, is supported by a huge range of phones ranging from the iPhone 5s and 5c back to the older Galaxy SIII 3G. If you have a 4G-enabled phone, chances are it’ll work over 2600MHz 4G.

For more information about compatibility, and the full range of planned locations, visit Optus’ coverage page.

Alex Angove-Plumb

Digital Content Editor

Alex Angove-Plumb is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut and an award-winning journalist. He's been in the tech publishing industry since 2010, putting him a few short years away from the title of Grizzled Ancient in his chosen profession. He was an original WhistleOut-er before running NBN Co's corporate blog for two years, then moving on to a lengthy stint at CHOICE. Now he's come home.

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