Vodafone has announced today that its 4G network, launched in June 2013, now has over 1 million devices connected. Vodafone claims that its network, revitalised, grown and rebuilt since the debacle of its performance in 2010, is offering great network performance at a lower price point than its competitors. This claim, it seems, has some merit to it.
Recent speed comparisons, published by Fairfax, show that Vodafone 4G is comfortably faster than Telstra and Optus in some areas, and while it’s 3G speeds might not be as fast, they’re still pretty good. These findings certainly mirror what Ausdroid has found in use of all three carriers across Sydney and Melbourne.
Vodafone had this to say this morning:
In just eight months we have crossed the million device threshold, which equates to around 30,000 new devices on our 4G network every week,
As much as some detractors joke about Vodafone’s well-known network issues in 2010, the fact is in 2014, Vodafone’s networks, both 3G and 4G, are offering consistent fast, reliable data speeds right around the country.
Kim Clarke, Chief Marketing Officer
One does need to bear in mind, though, that while Vodafone’s network is performing admirably at the moment, this could be a product of a smaller, newer network combined with a smaller customer base. In 2010, the inexcusably bad performance of their network was a significant factor in the droves of customers leaving Vodafone behind, many swearing never to return.
Time will show whether Vodafone can reclaim significant market share, and if its prices stay low and network performance stays fast, we can see this as a real possibility. Those who want to try Vodafone out can do so with a fair amount of confidence, as Vodafone do offer a 30-day network guarantee. If the network isn’t up to your expectations, you can leave with no penalty.
Vodafone has also compared its offerings on a $60 plan, which offers 1.5 GB included data, compared with 1 GB included on equivalent plans from Telstra.
I agree 100% with Mark, far too expensive. The only thing going for Vodaphone is the novel & innovative use of National roaming to Telstra in a very small region of West Vic. Wish that was much bigger.
Don’t you just love it when companies take the competition’s most expensive, comparable plan and claim how cheap they are. I’m on a $18/month, non-contract plan with 1.5Gb of data and 4G on the Optus network. So currently I’m comfortably $42/month ahead of Vodafone’s offering, thank you very much. The plan savings, over 24 months give me $1,008 towards a phone, any phone of my liking – not what Vodafone chooses to offer. Given that HTC One X (one of the free phones on the $60 plan) can be had for just under $600, that still leaves me $400 in… Read more »
Who is that through? I’m in the market
Vaya
are the speeds decent? i used to get TPG (via Optus) and the 3G speeds were woeful. Could never work out if that was because it was a throttled service or because Optus weren’t any good.
I ported to optus 4g $2 days for two weeks … The coverage was good but latency (I think that’s what it’s called) was terrible. I switched to Vodafone Sim only plan and its surprisingly good! Fast and seems better than Telstra and Optus.
$45 for 3gb of good 4G is pretty good IMO.
Why do you bring up lock-in? Does Vodafone what devices you can use on their network? I’ve only ever used their prepaid service and have had no problem moving my SIM between three successive phones, all of which I bought separately.
No, they don’t actually. You’re not the type of customer that they want and they’re quite happy for you to chase the best bargain because as soon as somebody else is a fraction of a cent cheaper, you’ll jump ship.
From a business’ point of view, that’s not a good customer to have. Their CMO has even said as much in an interview with zdnet:
#.zdnet.com/vodafone-aims-to-get-real-with-red-plans-7000019838/
EDIT: By the way, if you’re comparing an MVNO with no handset to a plan which includes a handset subsidy. A closer comparison would be the $45 SIM only plan, not the $60 Plan