Telstra has announced a new 3G mobile service which will deliver video calling and internet services to both city and country users, which will have the same coverage as existing CDMA.
Telstra chief executive officer Sol Trujillo said Telstra’s 3G city-to country service is part of a three year plan to deliver “faster speeds, wider coverage and better mobile services for both city and country customers”.
Telstra will partner with Ericsson Australia to deliver the new 3G services, with commercial agreements yet to be finalized.
In a press release, Telstra said it chose Ericsson because “they provided the best technical solution at a competitive cost, and met Telstra’s timeframes to provide the 3G city-to-country service”
“Telstra will be the first Australian telco to deliver high-speed 3G services across the country creating the best and largest network with wider and better coverage than exists today.”
The national 3G service will provide Telstra’s customers with existing and enhanced services including voice and video calling, mobile internet services and wireless broadband,” Mr Trujillo said.
The 3G service will use the same 850MHz frequency as existing CDMA services, thereby guaranteeing the same coverage without the need for more base stations. Telstra’s CDMA network currently services 98 per cent of the population.
Telstra said the new service will have enable country customers to access 3G services including video calling and mobile internet, with speeds of up to 14Mbps.
