EMOBILE: the mobile broadband revolutionist - Huawei

In recent years, governments around the world
have ramped up development of moblie
broadband. The underlying initiative is to
bridge the digital divide with technology that
allows people in more remote and less-developed
areas to experience the benefits of wireless
broadband. Australia, with extensive hinterland
and the very low population densities throughout
its vast interior, provides a sterling example of need
and fulfillment.
The wide coverage to bridge
the digital gulf
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics,
the number of broadband users in Australia
now exceeds 3.5 million, or 17% of the total
population. Canberra, the nation’s capital, has the
most with 58% of households using broadband
technology.
In Southern Australia, the broadband
penetration rate is only 32%. Back in October of
2006, Telstra, the top mobile operator in Australia
had deployed a nationwide HSDPA network,
named Next G, operating on 850MHz frequency.
The biggest competitive edge of Next G lies in its
wide coverage–up to 98% of the population. The
service penetration of the network is also worth
mentioning.
In May 2007, the Australian government
announced funding for building a national
broadband superhighway to extend access to underdeveloped
areas. The goal of the project was to
provide broadband services for 4 million individual
and commercial users with particular focus on
sparsely populated remote areas.
Telstra’s early advantage placed considerable
pressure on Optus, the No.2 operator in Australia.
Not wanting to lag behind, Optus quickly
responded to the government afforded opportunity
and commenced an in-depth search for a vendor
who could offer the necessary combination of
capability, value and coverage that would allow the
operator to participate in this vital national project.
To achieve full mobile network coverage that
reaches an unevenly distributed population across
many thousands of square kilometers, an operator
in Australia faces heavy up-front investment costs,
all of which makes prudent selection of a reliable
equipment vendor an essential priority.
After careful consideration, in December 2007,
Paul O’Sullivan, CEO of Optus, announced a plan
to expand the capacity of the company’s existing
3G network. According to the plan, by the end
of 2008, Optus would improve network coverage
from 60% to 96% (based on population), and
expand the covered area to 650 thousand square
kilometers. In addition, Optus would upgrade their
existing network to HSPA with a download rate
of 3.6Mbps. Meanwhile, Optus specified UMTS
900MHz as a core part of future mobile strategy
and chose Huawei as their exclusive vendor for
deploying the UMTS 900MHz network in rural
areas.
FEB 2009 / Win-Win
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