The expansion will involve the deployment of more than 1,000 LTE base stations by mid 2013, raising coverage from 40% to 66% of Australians.
Telstra will roll-out the infrastructure for the upgrade over the next 10 months, beginning in Bondi and the North Shore rail tunnel, Sydney.
“Since launching the nation’s first 4G LTE service last September, our customers have embraced 4G technology and today they’re using more than half a million 4G devices to browse the web faster, stream music and video and enjoy rich internet content traditionally reserved for PCs,” said Brendon Riley, CTO at Telstra. “Our investment is geared towards sustaining our network reach and performance for all our existing and potential new customers – particularly anyone looking to trade up to a 4G device.”
In Brisbane, Telstra plans to extend coverage from Brisbane Airport in the East to Indooroopilly in the West and Coopers Plan in the South to Chermside in the North. While on the Gold Coast coverage will be expanded from Surfers Paradise in the East to Nerang in the West, and from Tugun in the South to Hope Island in the North.
Telstra plans to more than double coverage in Sydney, stretching from Manly in the East to Greystanes in the West and from Korarah in the South to Hornsby in the North. While in Canberra coverage is planned from Queanbeyan in the East to Duffy in the West and Farrer in the South to Moncrieff in the North.
In Melborune coverage will be expanded to reach from Ringwood in the East to Werribee in the West and from Bentleigh in the South to Epping in the North. Coverage in Adelaide will stretch from Magill in the East to Henley Beach in the West and from Torens Park in the South to Broadview in the North.
In the Western city of Perth coverage will be expanded to Maida Vale in the East to Fremantle in the West and from Willetton in the South to Dianella in the North.
Telstra also released research from a sample of its 340,000 4G customer base, revealing that 56% of 4G smartphone users were men and 44% women. Queensland accounted for 26% of 4G smartphone subscribers, followed by Victoria at 22% and customers in New South Wales at 21%. The 18 to 29 age group was found to account for the most 4G smartphone subscribers at 24%, followed by 40 to 49 year olds at 23.5% and 30 to 39 year olds at 22%.
