Vodafone boosts 4G capability

Vodafone has completed the deployment of 850MHz to 1800MHz carrier aggregation across its 4G metropolitan network, which the telco said will provide faster and more reliable mobile data services to customers.

Benoit Hanssen, CTO, at Vodafone, said carrier aggregation would support Vodafone’s 4G network, which reaches 95 per cent of the metropolitan population and several major regional centres to meet demand for data.

“Carrier aggregation is a key feature of LTE Advanced or 4G+,” he said. “By combining the existing low-band (850MHz) and high band (1800MHz) networks, we are able to boost the network’s performance.”

He said more than 50 per cent of Vodafone’s data traffic is carried over 4G, and through carrier aggregation, the telco can provide customers who have compatible devices with more reliable access to fast downloads and uploads

Vodafone last July first announced it had reallocated its low-band 850MHz mobile spectrum to boost 4G network coverage – particularly indoors – for 1.5 million customers.

The move – known as ‘refarming’ – complements its high-band network on the 1800MHz spectrum. At the time, Vodafone said this would put 4G services into the hands of 95 per cent of Australia’s metropolitan population by the end of 2014.

Currently, more than 2 million devices are connected to Vodafone’s 4G network and 4G+ is now available to users with compatible devices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.

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