Vodafone adds Canberra to their ever expanding LTE network

Vodafone has today announced that they have expanded their existing LTE markets to include the nations capital – Canberra.

Vodafone Chief Technology Officer, Benoit Hanssen has announced the new coverage for the ACT, which will offer customers a greater choice for LTE in the suburbs of Canberra which will include parts of Acton, Civic, Crace, Downer, Franklin, Greenway, Harrison, Latham, Lyneham, Mitchell, Reid, Tuggeranong and Turner.

Customers are encouraged to try out the Vodafone network, with the carrier offering a Network Guarantee which enables them to try out the network for 30 days and exit the contract with no termination fees, paying only for what they’ve used, a pretty good deal by anyones scale.

Speaking of the ongoing Vodafone 4G LTE rollout, in Canberra and around Australia, Mr Hanssen said

Vodafone’s 4G network is continuing to roll out around the country and we are pleased that we are able to offer fast, reliable 4G in the nation’s capital. Last week we announced our first million 4G devices, a major milestone less than a year, a major milestone less than a year after we first switched on our first 4G site. We are adding more 4G sites every week around the country and our full rollout to the ACT is now underway.

A recent independent study of the LTE markets in Sydney and Melbourne by an independent testing agency found the Vodafone network to be the fastest in those markets compared to their competition, boding well for the Canberra markets. The high speed meaning customers can access their data quickly.

Vodafone certainly sees the data allowances on plans as a growing need among Australian mobile consumers, with the carrier attempting to offer ‘generous data inclusions’ to their customers. Mr Hanssen strongly encourages customers in Canberra – and I’m sure any other market that Vodafone is in – to evaluate their current providers offerings with that offered by Vodafone.

The expansion of the Vodafone network to Canberra means that there are finally three players in the LTE Market, although only two using the 1800MHz network, with Optus using the 2300MHz network which saw users with older 4G enabled handsets unable to use their phone on the Optus network. The added competition can only be good for consumers in Canberra and I look forward to trying it out.