Telstra has cranked up the pressure on Optus and Vodafone by revealing that they are trialing new 4G technology which they claim will deliver even faster speeds than what they currently deliver while also allowing them to expand their 4G Network.
The carrier who has the dominant share of the Australian 4G market said today that they are currently trialling the next generation of wireless 4G technology, known as LTE-Advanced with plans to introduce it later this year in areas with heavy traffic demand over a greater distance.
LTE-Advanced uses the 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum bands together, allowing more data to be carried faster, unlocking more capacity for mobile use.
In addition to these measures, Telstra is trialling small cell networks – known as heterogeneous networks (HetNets) – to expand network capacity in busy locations with a dense population such as city centres and sporting stadiums. This can complement our existing network by targeting high traffic areas where it would be difficult to build additional large scale base stations.
The works are being undertaken with Telstra’s long-term partner, Ericsson, which is the sole supplier for the rollout of Telstra’s LTE network.
Telstra also released new research conducted in conjunction withThe Nielsen Company, taken froma representative sample of 2,119 mobile Australians aged over 16 from across Australia in both metropolitan and regional areas the research revealed that Smartphones are being adopted by the masses.
2010: 32% of all mobile phone owners have a smartphone
2011: 41%
2012: 52%
2013 prediction: 60%
Older Australians are taking to smartphone:
Increased across all age groups, with a high increase among those aged 55+ compared to 2011
2010: 17% penetration among 55 yrs +
2011: 21%
2012: 36%
Men and women alike now use smartphones
2010: 43% men; 31% women
2011: 51% men; 42% female
2012: 60% men; 60% women
Smartphones continue to entertain Australians:
2011: 63% have watched video content on their smartphone
2012: 71% have watched video content
And we’re using them to buy things too:
2011: 25% have purchased consumer goods & services
2012: 33% have purchased consumer goods & services (increase driven by gifts, clothing & fashion accessories)
More on this story to follow.
