Vodafone and Telstra Wholesale in deal to share network

In an industry first, Vodafone Australia and Telstra Wholesale announced a network partnering trial. The pilot project,
which will take place in central regional Victoria, will assess the viability of sharing mobile base station infrastructure in areas
where duplicate coverage exists.

Grahame Maher, Managing Director, Vodafone Australia, said that if successful, Vodafone would progress further network partnering with Telstra Wholesale on a commercial basis to minimise the costs of duplicated elements of each carrier's GSM infrastructure in regional and rural Australia.

"This will ensure a competitive and efficient mobile services environment for the benefit of customers in those areas," Grahame said.

"Let's face it - customers don't care who operates the base stations - they just want the best possible service and choice in mobile providers. Network partnering that maintains that customer choice while reducing costs is a smart and logical solution that benefits all."