Telstra to rollout 3G in 2005

July 22, 2004

Australia's Telstra Corp said Thursday that it intends to introduce 3G mobile services in the country sometime next year. The company would invest between A$900 million to A$1 billion over 4 years on 3G. (£1 = A$2.44)

Telstra is looking at the possibility of sharing network infrastructure with a partner, with Hutchison Telecommunications looking the likely candidate.

"We will pursue these opportunities either through a paced rollout or an infrastructure sharing arrangement," said Telstra Technology Group Managing Director Ted Pretty.

"The pursuit of those two alternatives does not change our view on the timing of the launch, which will be during calendar 2005," he added.

Pretty did not give a specific launch date, saying he didn't want to prepare competitors.

"It's simply that timing is key here and the investment and deployment must be synchronized with demand and competitive offerings," he said.

Telstra will also be launching 2.5G mobile phone data services in the December in preparation for users to get familiarise with new data services and applications.

Analysts see the network sharing agreement with Hutchison as a strong possibility. Goldman Sachs JB Were analyst Christian Guerra believes there is a reasonable likelihood of Telstra and Hutchison coming to a wholesale arrangement for 3G services

"We believe the catalyst for this wholesale arrangement may be Telstra's potential acquisition of Hutchison's Orange 2G CDMA business," he added.

Hutchison, which has already launched 3G services in Australia, confirmed it is in talks with a number of mobile carriers, including Telstra on 3G network co-operation.