OPTUS STRENGTHENS 3G NETWORK AND LAUNCHES 4G BUSINESS SERVICES

• Stronger 3G indoor coverage delivered to more than 1,000 Optus mobile towers in metro and regional centres.
• Optus brings 4G mobile broadband services to business customers in Sydney and Perth, following successful trials in Newcastle.
• Optus’ first 4G TD-LTE demonstration conducted at new 4G testing facility at Optus Campus Macquarie Park, following Vividwireless acquisition.

As part of its commitment to being a leader in mobile networks, Optus today announced it has delivered stronger coverage to its customers through one of Australia’s largest 3G network enhancement projects and expanded the availability of 4G business services to Sydney and Perth.

Stronger 3G network

Since announcing a number of network initiatives in September 2011 to boost indoor coverage and deliver faster data speeds, Optus has upgraded more than 1,000 3G mobile sites using its 900Mhz spectrum. This has resulted in stronger 3G performance for Optus mobile customers across regional centres and major capital cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin and Perth.

Günther Ottendorfer, Managing Director, Optus Networks said, “Our customers are making the most of these network enhancements with a 20 per cent increase in 3G data usage in our upgraded areas.

“In addition to our popular 3G HomeZone product, Optus has significantly strengthened its 3G metro indoor coverage footprint, ensuring our customers receive the highest quality coverage in the places that matters most to them.

“Over the next twelve months, Optus will continue to roll out 3G coverage enhancements to the remainder of the network including Brisbane, Newcastle, Wollongong and Adelaide.

“Our intention to build the best mobile network in Australia relies on having a strong foundation in 3G, while transitioning into a 4G world,” Mr Ottendorfer said.

Sydney and Perth 4G business services live today

In the next stage of its 4G roll out, Optus has expanded the availability of 4G services utilising its 4G FDD-LTE network. From today, small business, enterprise and government customers in Sydney and Perth will be able to experience Optus 4G USB mobile broadband and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots.

Speaking at a media briefing in Sydney today, Mr Ottendorfer said, “Building on our first 4G services in Newcastle earlier this year, business customers in Sydney and Perth can now get faster speeds, greater capacity and quicker response times on their 4G mobile broadband services – ahead of our wider consumer 4G launch.

“Australian businesses want fast, reliable mobile broadband that lets them work flexibly, enabling new and exciting ways to interact and transact with their customers. Our investment in next-generation 4G mobile technology provides businesses with the choice of faster speeds over 4G, now backed by a stronger 3G network,” Mr Ottendorfer said.

Optus will have two 4G products available, the Optus 4G USB and the Optus 4G mobile Wi-Fi modem. Both devices will use dual mode 4G/3G HSPA technology enabling it to operate across the 1800MHz, 2100MHz and 900MHz spectrum bands. This gives customers the benefits of 4G connectivity where it is available and switchover to highspeed HSPA and HSPA+ technology across the Optus 3G mobile network, which reaches over 97 per cent of the Australian population.

Optus 4G TD-LTE trial network opens

In preparation for a major national 4G TD-LTE network roll out in 2013, Optus has opened its trial network using this next generation 4G LTE technology at the Optus Campus in Macquarie Park and St Marys in western Sydney, NSW.

Today Optus conducted its first public demonstration of the new 4G TD-LTE trial network achieving peak site throughput capacity of over 200Mbps and a consistent per-user range of speeds between 25Mbps and 87Mbps.

Once built this new network will deliver a series of benefits to Optus customers across Australia including:

• Faster mobile broadband to households and businesses in metropolitan Australia.
• Stronger network performance and customer experience with Australia’s highest capacity 4G network in metropolitan areas.

“As Australians rely more on smartphones and other connected devices, our goal is to have one single integrated 4G network that utilises the latest LTE technologies to offer our customers a great 4G network experience,” Mr Ottendorfer said.

Media contacts:
Joshua Drayton / Derek Lau
Optus Corporate Affairs
(02) 8082 7850