Vodafone has confirmed its existing 1800MHz spectrum will benefit from arrangements the company made with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The arrangement concerns the exchange and reallocation of spectrum blocks with state railway authorities in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
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“We have now organised our spectrum into contiguous blocks in mainland capital cities that will support the roll out of LTE in all capital cities, once mass market handsets and mobile broadband devices are available at mass market prices,” said VHA CEO, Nigel Dews.
“We thank the railways for their co-operation to help reach a better public policy outcome.”
Vodafone has been undergoing a rebuild of its network infrastructure, with Huawei contracted to replace its out-dated existing network with new equipment, and also upgrade it to 4G LTE technology. The move is part of Vodafone’s billion dollar network investment plan, which also includes the rollout of 850MHz towers.
Vodafone’s LTE 4G using 1800MHz spectrum has already passed testing, after it was trialled in Newcastle in 2010. The trial recorded download speeds of up to 73Mbps, offering fast mobile download and upload speeds.
