Vodafone has made enhancements to its 4G network for areas of regional New South Wales and the ACT.
The telco has completed the re-farming of an additional 5MHz band of its 850MHz spectrum between Nelson Bay, Kiama and the eastern edge of the Blue Mountains.
As part of the process, it has also improved its 4G coverage and added extra capacity in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), with the activation of 91 sites.
The company said the L850 low-band spectrum would provide high quality indoor mobile coverage as the lower frequency signal penetrates buildings more effectively than higher frequency signals.
This complements the 4G coverage of Vodafone’s 1800MHz spectrum. The company said capable devices would now aggregate the 850MHz and 1800 MHz band for an optimal mobile experience on the Vodafone network. Vodafone has also upgraded over 1000 sites as part of its network enhancement program.
Vodafone chief technology officer, Benoit Hanssen, said the upgrade would offer several benefits.
“This activity will ensure a faster, more stable and stronger network experience for our customers in and around Sydney”, said Hanssen.
“We completed this activity just over a week ago and we’ve already seen a 33 per cent increase in 4G data consumption in the ACT and we expect to see this trend continue with more customers now able to access 4G speeds,” Hansen added in reference to the ACT expansion.
The 850MHz spectrum band was previously used for 3G services. As a result of the upgrade, Vodafone has expanded its 4G network to cover over 96 per cent of Australia’s metropolitan population.
