3G in Australia
3G technology and its commercial applications were introduced in Australia by the Hutchison Telecomunications company under the brand name of "Three." But prior to this introduction on April of 2003, a pre-commercial demonstration of 3G technology was actually done by m.Net Corporation in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. This pre-commercial demonstration of a 3G network was actually built as part of the 2002 IT world Congress.
Despite having a relatively small population, Australians today are eager to see what 3G services can offer to them. As a matter of fact, IDC technology analysts have published figures that suggest an optimistic view for 3G usage and subscription of Australians to 3G services. According to these figures, it is possible that the number of Australians subscribing to 3G services will surpass the number of their fellow Australians who still use older mobile phone technologies like 2G by late 2008 or early 2009.
This eager acceptance of 3G systems is partially due to the willingness of many Australians to experiement with newer technologies. Another reason is that Australia's mobile phone industry offers more competitive prices. Many mobile carriers in Australia actually offer competitive payment schemes and plans, making 3G services accessible to many subscribers.
Current Status of the Australian 3G Industry
3G mobiles continue to offer various features such as video conferencing and video mainstreaming. Moreover, high-speed Internet access through 3G mobiles reduces download time when trying to access a music video, a movie, or a TV. In order to to provide better services through a 3G phone, many mobile carriers are planning to implement network upgrades. Since a 3G phone offers many uses, mobile carriers plan to launch 3G upgrade programs that can offer faster Internet access and wider network coverage. Australian mobile carriers such as Hutchison, Vodafone, Telstra, and Optus plan to complete these 3G upgrades on or before 2010.
