Vodafone New Zealand is rolling out dual-carrier HSPA+ technology across its 3G network., one of only 10 carriers worldwide, and believed to be the first carrier in New Zealand, to roll out this technology.

Dual-carrier HSPA+ (DC-HSPA+) will enable Vodafone to offer even faster mobile internet speeds to customers who are using smartphones and mobile data devices. Vodafone plans to offer a Vodem which supports dual-carrier HSPA+ in early 2011 and expects smartphone support to emerge over the coming months.

In testing dual-carrier HSPA+ in the field, Vodafone technicians have obtained mobile broadband speeds ranging between 4 and 20Mbit/sec. Actual speeds available to customers will vary according to a range of factors including customer demand at the cell site providing the service and the bandwidth supported by the web service being accessed.

The first seven sites in Auckland’s CBD and three in the Wellington CBD are now live. This will be followed early in 2011 with targeted deployment across further heavy usage sites in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

“This is only the first step in our smart network plans, as we transition towards Long Term Evolution (LTE) or 4G technology – the next evolution of mobile,” says Sandra Pickering, Vodafone’s Chief Technology Officer.