Telstra today announced it will officially launch its 700MHz network on January 1 2015 and that it will significantly expand commercial trials from next week.
New trial test beds include Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Bundaberg and Sarina in Queensland, and Yamba on the NSW North Coast.
From New Year's Day, Telstra intends to roll out the new network across Australia. Similar to its 1800MHz 4G rollout, Telstra will push 700MHz 4G services to a 3km radius of the CBD in all major cities and 50 regional centres.
Telstra has invested $1.6bn in the roll-out, which is expected to extend Telstra's 4G reach to 90% of the population and improve the customer experience with increased capacity and superior indoor signal penetration. Carrier aggregation technology also means Telstra can deliver downloads speeds up to a theoretical 300Mbps.
“We’re staying ahead of [strong network] demand by using the 700 MHz band and aggregation techniques to massively increase network capacity. This will allow us to offer customers, with compatible devices, Australia’s best and most reliable mobile service,” says Telstra COO Kate McKenzie.
Compatible devices is a key element in McKenzie's statement, and many of Telstra's customers will find they need new hardware to make use of the expanded Telstra spectrum.
Happily, a number of devices already on sale at Telstra work on the 700MHz band, including the Samsung Galaxy S5, the HTC One M8 and LG G3. Upcoming devices like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will also be compatible.
Telstra is also selling its WiFi 4G Advanced Pro X mobile broadband modem, dubbed "the first 700 MHz compatible mobile broadband device to be made available in Australia" by the telco. It is available for $7 per month on top of any of Telstra's mobile broadband plans.
Joseph Hanlon
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