Vodafone Australia announced the expansion of its 3G network today, claiming it now covers 94 per cent of Australia's population.
Previously covering 80 per cent of the population, the Vodafone 3G network has been expanded to cover a range of areas in Australia, including the Hunter Valley, the Snowy Mountains, Wollongong and Canberra.
The Vodafone network expansion, first announced in late 2007, failed to meet its initial deadline of the end of 2008, but was given a second deadline earlier this year.
"Vodafone is committed to investing in its network to make state-of-the-art 3G services more accessible and affordable," said Nigel Dews, CEO of Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA). "Vodafone’s great value 3G services are now available to Australians living and working in regional cities and towns, as well as business travellers and holiday-makers who need to stay connected."
As part of the upgrade, Vodafone’s 2G network will now support EDGE technology. Existing customers with a 2G mobile phone will continue to access voice and text services as normal, but will experience an increase in data speeds, according to Vodafone.
Vodafone is also offering all new and existing customers free access to Facebook on their mobile phones until 31 October.
