Vodafone Australia appoints Kevin Millroy to permanent CTO post

Vodafone Hutchison Australia acting chief technology officer and general manager for Access Network Delivery Kevin Millroy has on Monday been appointed to the role of chief technology officer.

Millroy took on acting CTO duties following the departure of Benoit Hanssen in July, who moved onto the mobile telecommunications provider's half owner Hutchison.

The new CTO joined Vodafone Australia in 2013 after stints at Vodafone UK, Ericsson, and Cellnet.

Vodafone Australia CEO Inaki Berroeta said Millroy would be responsible for continuing to expand Vodafone's network, overseeing the carrier's entry into the NBN market next year, working towards the eventual launch of 5G.

"Kevin knows our network inside out, and has played a critical role in leading the teams which have built the network our customers love and trust," Berroeta said. "Kevin is highly experienced, with more than thirty years working in the telecommunications industry globally, and I congratulate him on his appointment to the executive team."

"As general manager Access Network Delivery, Kevin had responsibility for the rollout of network upgrade and expansion projects including the Mobile Black Spot Program."

Earlier this month, Vodafone picked up funding for only four mobile base stations in the second round of the mobile blackspot program, after gaining AU$20 million in funding in the round prior.

Vodafone has been calling on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to make a domestic roaming declaration that would allow Vodafone to use its competitors' networks in areas where its coverage is lacking.

The Productivity Commission's draft report into telecommunications universal service obligation, released last week, showed that although Vodafone claims to have 96 percent of the Australian population covered by its network, only 7.5 percent of the continent's landmass is covered.

By contrast, Optus claims 98.5 percent population coverage and 15.6 percent of the nation's area covered, while Telstra said it has 99.3 percent of the population and more than 31 percent of the landmass covered by its mobile network.