We know Vodafone is putting the finishing touches on the first phase of its 4G network, but details have today trickled out from the CEO about when you can get it and more importantly, where you can get it. Read on to find out what the telco has planned.
Vodafone’s CEO Bill Morrow told journalists this afternoon that users will be able to get access to 4G services from June this year. Staff are trialing the service right now to iron out any issues — you can see a demonstration of how fast it will be here.
As far as where you can get the 4G service, Morrow said that it will initially be available in five capital cities; namely Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and Brisbane (sorry Canberra and Tasmania). Other cities will naturally follow as part of phase two.
No word on price just yet, but presumably it’s not going to cost extra. If so, Vodafone would be the first telco in Australia to charge a premium for 4G.
Interestingly, Morrow reaffirmed that the company isn’t about to start dropping its plans to bargain basement prices to chase customers:
“The right value doesn’t always mean the cheapest.”
What’s more interesting, however, is Morrow’s personal prediction about the future of mobile data pricing in Australia:
Data at the rates that it’s growing today and the applications using more and more data, will force the industry into a pricing structural change. If you look at places with high broadband shifts, you see prices go up. Tiered structures come in. [For example], if you want to buy video subscription services, that [might be] allowed in one price plan and not another. We’re going to see more of that in the mobile telco space going forward.
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