Vodafone could soon become the number 2 network in Australia
Plans by Vodafone to deploy a new 3G Edge mobile network throughout Australia could strike a serious blow to Optus which is currently experiencing major problems with its own network.
Optus is facing serious competition from the top by Telstra and will now be facing the new might of Vodafone which will no doubt be targeting Optus’ subscribers who are unhappy with the service they are receiving.
The Singapore government which owns Optus is at the centre of the problems it faces with a lack of investment into the infrastructure of the network. Optus is currently fighting alongside the Terria Consortium against Telstra in a bid for Federal funding of $4.5 billion dollars to build a national broadband network, and after a recent failure of their services are looking at legal action from both Queensland and NSW.
Even the billions Telstra has invested in a private broadband network and its new NextG network has not stopped it staggering from disaster to disaster. A month into its hugely promoted Wireless Fusion it axed the service, which is unfortunate as it was the most popular wireless broadband service it had released. This followed a big print and TV advertising campaign. Telstra has also been labelled the world’s slowest apple 3G iPhone network.
The biggest concern will be the huge amount that Optus will have to spend on its network if the Terria Consortium and Optus fail to win the bid for funding from the federal government and the Singapore government will not be happy about this. Also, a lack of investment capital from lending institutes and banks as they reduce the number of capital works programs is another issue they will have.
It will be a tough battle for Optus with it having to fight Telstra, which is leading the market and also fending off Vodafone, which is in close third place spot. Vodafone will be particularly difficult with its astute marketing skills and the fact that it will, after a recent review, soon be announcing a new communications and advertising agency. Vodafone will also have an advantage when taking on the Telstra NextG network in that it already has a strong market presence for young adults and teenagers. It is however, unlikely that Telstra will take this lying down, as while Vodafone increases its efforts so too will Telstra, probably with an upgrade to 42Mbps.
Claims were recently made by Telstra after it had completed testing with Ericsson, its mobile network supplier, that it could achieve 21Mbps speeds on its NextG network this year and up to 42Mbps by next year.
