Vodafone Oz launches '100 Mbps' 4G service

Vodafone Hutchison Australia is putting its newly-secured debt funding to work, becoming the last of Australia's three mobile carriers to launch 4G services.

The carrier says its two blocks of contiguous 20 MHz spectrum mean it's able to offer speeds reaching 100 Mbps (presuming that there aren't too many other users in the cell, and you're not too far away from the antenna).

Right now, the 4G service is only available in selected areas of the five mainland state capitals – Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth – along with the Gold Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong. The company promises to triple its coverage by the end of 2013.

According to The Australian, the carrier's shareholders, Vodafone Group and Hutchison Whampoa, have secured a two-year, $AU3.67 billion loan to cover spectrum license costs and network expansion.

Improving its network operations and customer service are a priority for the mobile carrier, which in May announced that it had shed 216,000 subscribers in 2013.

Earlier this month, VHA announced that the last customers remaining under its 3 brand, inherited from Hutchison, will be shuttered. Customers have until 30 August to shift away from their legacy plans. ®