3 boosts Sydney mobile speeds
Hutchison has upgraded the data speeds available through its 3 mobile network, in Sydney metropolitan areas.
The upgrade to the High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) protocol will allow the carrier to deliver speeds of between 600kbps to 1.5Mbps, with a theoretical maximum of 3.6Mbps.
"The Sydney upgrade follows the successful upgrade of 3's Brisbane network in December 2006," a statement issued by the company this morning said. "Melbourne including Frankston, Werribee and Geelong; Adelaide; Canberra and Perth will be completed by the end of March."
The news comes just two days after rival carrier Optus announced it would be extending its own HSDPA-enabled network throughout rural and regional Australia, in a AU$500 million to AU$800 million upgrade due to be completed in three years.
Late last year, Telstra launched its national Next G network (also HSDPA-based), offering speeds comparable to those announced by Hutchison today. Vodafone offers HSDPA-based services in limited areas of Sydney and Melbourne, while Optus does not yet offer the service despite sharing the majority of its network with Vodafone.
The only way of accessing 3's higher speeds currently is through one of the carrier's laptop data cards, or through the Dopod-branded Windows Mobile smartphones 3 sells (the 838Pro & 595 models).
"3 will be introducing mobile for the mass consumer market which will be HSDPA-enabled, once the full national HSDPA upgrade is complete," the carrier's statement said.
Hutchison claims over one million customers Down Under.