Vodafone Australia Introduces 3G Services

Vodafone Australia switched on its 3G network, introducing a new wave of its compatible mobiles, music tracks, mobile TV, video calling and mobile broadband services.

The new network supports Vodafone live! with 3G – a multimedia entertainment and information service, and Vodafone Mobile Connect (VMC) with 3G – a mobile broadband service for PC and Apple Mac laptops. Vodafone’s range of 3G handsets and devices will be sold in Australai through all Vodafone stores and resellers.

Vodafone’s 3G services are available in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra metropolitan areas and at airports in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The network will continue to expand to cover metropolitan Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and key regional areas such as the New South Wales Central Coast and Queensland Gold Coast next year.

The Vodafone live! with 3G provides a portal to hundreds of thousands of music tracks, the latest music videos, sneak preview movie trailers, exclusive mobile TV ‘mobisodes’ of shows like South Park, Love & Hate and 24:Conspiracy, Sky News, Fox Sports, hundreds of high-resolution 3D and retro arcade-style games, video calling to any other 3G user within coverage areas, as well as standard services such as voice, SMS and MMS.

Vodafone live! with 3G launches with six handsets: the Sharp 903, the Nokia 6680, the Samsung z500, the Sony Ericsson V800, the Motorola V1050, and the Sony Ericsson V600.

To encourage existing customers to migrate to 3G services, Vodafone will reward its medium-to-long-term, high-value Prepay and On Account customers with either a free 3G handset or a contribution to a 3G handset.

Customers who purchase one of Vodafone’s six 3G handsets and connect to the new network between now and the end of this year will receive Vodafone live! with 3G content free for two months. The offer includes five free music tracks, two months free video calling within Australia and two months of unlimited mobile TV and exclusive video content.

The Vodafone Mobile Connect (VMC) with 3G is a mobile data card for PC and Apple Mac laptops, which gives users data access at up to broadband speeds in 3G coverage areas. As part of its global 3G network reach, Vodafone offers customers 16 international roaming destinations, subject to a charge of 1 cent per kb, with a minimum 10kb session fee.