3g-g
26th April 2005, 12:30 AM
You may of read the other post (https://talk3g.co.uk/showthread.php?t=404) I placed earler about Bank of America doing a deal with one of the US operators to place masts at each BofA site. It seems like a worldwide problem the upgrading and rollout of the new 3G networks... which i find quite worrying. The bad feeling of the public towards the new sites, and the poor delivery of good & new UMTS/3G handsets worldwide must surely be getting the network operators in a bit of a tizzy. Can 3G emulate the success of GSM? Or are we all destined to be stuck with patchy 3G coverage for a long time to come? They're having the same problems in Oz (downunder that is, not where Dorothy & the tin man went).
Reported in The Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15084775%255E643,00.html
OPTUS will launch its new third-generation network in Canberra tomorrow, becoming the second company to offer 3G mobile services in Australia.
But Optus will not have the service available elsewhere until October, amid teething problems with its network rollout.
The move comes as shrinking mobile revenue growth has forced the No2 mobile player to cut back spending on its existing GSM network, which services 6.2 million customers.
The rollout of Optus's 3G service - offering the promise of video calls and internet-based applications - follows the launch of Hutchison's "3" service in 2003. Telstra and Vodafone plan to launch their 3G services later this year.
Optus is building a 3G network with Vodafone, while Telstra last year paid $450 million for 50 per cent of the existing Hutchison network.
Optus insiders say the company's 3G network, named Project Spinoza, needs to have its network sites complete by the end of June to allow radio network tests to start on August 1 and finish by September 30.
But the company is arguing with the owners of mobile tower sites over the introduction of 3G network equipment.
"Private landowners (are) not too happy to be told by Optus that they're putting more antennas on their roof without paying them any more rent," one source said. Most mobile tower leases have a clause stating they can install up to six antennas, however, on the 2G network, most only have three antennas.
Sources also said that Optus's budget of $150 million to upgrade 330 2G sites nationally had been halved in February by its parent, Singapore Telecommunications, and only 160 sites would be upgraded in the financial year ending March 31, 2006.
Optus and Vodafone plan to launch 3G services in Sydney and Melbourne in October but their network will have half the coverage of their rivals' networks.
Optus was planning 1000 network sites and Vodafone 500 but it was unclear how many of these would operate by October, a source said. The partners will then roll out 3G in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth for commercial services in 2006.
Hutchison already has more than 2000 sites and Telstra has started work on more sites to add to the joint network in regional areas such as Canberra. Telstra is targeting July for its 3G launch.
Optus will only have deployed a minimum number of base stations in Canberra to start the service, company sources said. This risks creating a phenomenon referred to by network engineers as "swiss cheese", due to the fact that it will have holes.
The mass market remains unconvinced about the benefits of 3G and rich data services on mobiles.
Two years after launching, "3" has only 500,000 of Australia's 18 million mobile users. Data services on so-called 2.5G networks from Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have also struggled to find users.
Reported in The Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15084775%255E643,00.html
OPTUS will launch its new third-generation network in Canberra tomorrow, becoming the second company to offer 3G mobile services in Australia.
But Optus will not have the service available elsewhere until October, amid teething problems with its network rollout.
The move comes as shrinking mobile revenue growth has forced the No2 mobile player to cut back spending on its existing GSM network, which services 6.2 million customers.
The rollout of Optus's 3G service - offering the promise of video calls and internet-based applications - follows the launch of Hutchison's "3" service in 2003. Telstra and Vodafone plan to launch their 3G services later this year.
Optus is building a 3G network with Vodafone, while Telstra last year paid $450 million for 50 per cent of the existing Hutchison network.
Optus insiders say the company's 3G network, named Project Spinoza, needs to have its network sites complete by the end of June to allow radio network tests to start on August 1 and finish by September 30.
But the company is arguing with the owners of mobile tower sites over the introduction of 3G network equipment.
"Private landowners (are) not too happy to be told by Optus that they're putting more antennas on their roof without paying them any more rent," one source said. Most mobile tower leases have a clause stating they can install up to six antennas, however, on the 2G network, most only have three antennas.
Sources also said that Optus's budget of $150 million to upgrade 330 2G sites nationally had been halved in February by its parent, Singapore Telecommunications, and only 160 sites would be upgraded in the financial year ending March 31, 2006.
Optus and Vodafone plan to launch 3G services in Sydney and Melbourne in October but their network will have half the coverage of their rivals' networks.
Optus was planning 1000 network sites and Vodafone 500 but it was unclear how many of these would operate by October, a source said. The partners will then roll out 3G in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth for commercial services in 2006.
Hutchison already has more than 2000 sites and Telstra has started work on more sites to add to the joint network in regional areas such as Canberra. Telstra is targeting July for its 3G launch.
Optus will only have deployed a minimum number of base stations in Canberra to start the service, company sources said. This risks creating a phenomenon referred to by network engineers as "swiss cheese", due to the fact that it will have holes.
The mass market remains unconvinced about the benefits of 3G and rich data services on mobiles.
Two years after launching, "3" has only 500,000 of Australia's 18 million mobile users. Data services on so-called 2.5G networks from Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have also struggled to find users.