High Speed Internet Access (HSIA): Mobile Broadband

3 Mobile customers will soon have access to Vodafone’s 2G network. So far there hasn’t been an official announcement from Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA – the company that was formed when Three and Vodafone merged earlier this year). However, 3 customers are seeing a different display of available networks with an inclusion of “3 – 2G”. 3 Mobile don’t have a 2G network. It’s always only been 3G so customers are surmising that the 2G network is in fact Vodafone’s 2G network. There has since been a lot of discussion supporting this theory with some dates to the effect that 3 Mobile’s access to the Vodafone 2G network is currently being tested in South Australia and will be extended to the rest of Australia on 7 December 2009.

It looks like 3 customers will gain access to a much larger 2G coverage area than they previously have, without having to roam onto the Telstra Next G network as they currently do with the resulting roaming charges. Even though 3 Mobile recently entered into a deal with Telstra and roaming charges have been reduced to 0.10 per megabyte, customers still don’t like data roaming. The Vodafone option will be a win for them.

Three are not yet getting access to Vodafone’s 3G network. Outside the 3 3G zone and the Vodafone 2G network coverage then roaming will be available as now via Telstra Next G.

It’s not easy to get hold of an iPhone 3G S at the moment. It was predicted that the new iPhone would sell out very quickly and in fact 3 Mobile almost sold out on the day of the launch a couple of weeks ago.

Now, the situation is that the telcos offerings the iPhone 3GS have no stock available. Telstra has blamed the “global shortage of iPhone models”. It looks like it will be a couple of weeks before new shipments arrive for Australian carriers. Apple have said that they can’t keep up with the demand for the iPhone 3Gs and are working to address the current shortfall.

The iPhone 3Gs can be purchased directly from Apple at a cost of $879 for the 16GB model and $1040 for 32GB.

3 Mobile are offering the 8GB iPhone 3G free on their $49 cap plan. This is an improvement on their preliminary pricing models released a few days ago and makes them the cheapest operator for the 8GB iPhone. Optus and Vodafone have the 8GB iPhone free on a $59 plan.

The plan comes with $350 worth of calls, 300 minutes to 3 mobiles and 250 MB of data.

3 Mobile have released their iPhone 3G S plan prices in advance of their launch of the product this Friday, 17th July.

The data allowances are fairly generous. At the top of the range 3 are offering a package called “The Works”. For a cost of $110 per month you get 3000 minutes worth of calls, 500 SMS or MMS and 3GB of data. The 16GB model on this plan has no monthly handset repayment fee. The 32GB iPhone will cost $5 per month. Extra data can be added to the plan (and any of the other iPhone plans). 500MB costs $6 per month. 1GB costs $10 per month and an 3GB costs $20 per month.

At the cheaper end, 3 are offering discounts on last year’s iPhone model. The iPhone 3G 8GB is available for a monthly cost of $49 ($39 cap and $10 handset repayment). This includes 150 MB of data and $150 of calls.

The 16GB iPhone 3GS is free on Three’s 24 month $79 cap plan. This matches Optus who also have the 16GB iPhone 3G S free on a $79 cap plan

3 have confirmed that internet tethering will be available at no extra cost.

3  mobile have enrolled Adam Gilchrist to provide coverage of the Ashes via Twitter. He provides daily commentary and insights.

In addition to Adam Gilchrist’s tweets, Three’s Cricket fans can keep up to date with all the Ashes news with the Cricket TV package including FOX Sports Coverage and live scores.

There are some pretty good deals on smartphones to follow the Ashes. The Samsung F480 is free on the $29 cap.

3 Mobile customers will be offered the iPhone 3G when it launches in Australia this week. When the iPhone came to Australia last year, 3 Mobile were not on the list of providers able to offer the phone which sparked a petition from Three customers. So this is good news this time around. It’s the first product from the merger between 3 Mobile and Vodafone.

The pricing details are yet to be announced but the iPhone will be available on Three’s capped plans.

Customers can register interest in advance of the launch date.

The iPhone 3G has new features in addition to the range of features on the current iPhone model. It has support for 3G mobile broadband networks, Microsoft Exchange Server and support for 3rd party apps through the upcoming iPhone app store.

Vodafone will offer the HTC Magic handset free on their $69 capped plan with $400 towards calls and 1GB of data.

3 Mobile released their pricing for the HTC Magic last week. 3’s $69 cap plan has a charge of $10 per month for the HTC Magic. The handset isn’t free until the higher value $99 cap plan.

There are some differences between 3 Mobile and Vodafone’s offerings other than the pricing.

The HTC Magic handsets are different. Vodafone have a white handset and 3 Mobile a black handset. More significantly 3 Mobile’s HTC Magic will include Microsoft ActivSync which syncs with Microsoft Exchange providing access to emails, calendar entries and contacts. The 3 Mobile handset is more attractive to business users.

The launch date for the HTC Magic plans is likely to be June for both 3 and Vodafone but the exact dates haven’t been confirmed.

The ACCC have approved the merger of Hutchison (3 Mobile) and Vodafone.

One of the most significant factors leading to the decision was the ability of the operators to make investments in the networks in order to satisfy the ever growing demand for mobile broadband products and services. The ACCC believed that the investment required was unlikely to be achieved without the merger.

This opinion has been echoed by research firms and analysts. IDC research believes that competition will be enhanced not lessened with the Vodafone / Three merged entity. The scale achieved by the merger will enable the new company to offer better and more innovative products and pose a serious threat to Optus and even Telstra.

Even though the competition has been reduced to three main players instead of four, three strong players are likely to be much more effective than two strong players and two weaker ones.

3 Mobile Broadband have released the pricing for the much awaited HTC Magic plans which will be available the middle of June.

The pricing has three components:

• A data charge. You can opt for 1GB, 2GB or 3GB of data. This is a 50% saving off the existing X-Series Ultimate Pack data bundles.
• A Voice plan cap charge. There are 8 choices ranging from the $29 cap plan through to a $199 cap.
• A monthly charge for the HTC Magic handset. The handset is free on the higher cap plans and there is a monthly charge on the lower cap plans.

The following table shows all the prices.

The response to requests for pre-registration has been huge according to Three Mobile.

The HTC Magic features:

• Google Android 1.5 Operating System
• Fantastic, bright, sharp screen
• Lightweight, slim design
• Elegant curved design
• On-screen keyboard (but no physical keyboard)
• Easy to use trackball

Update: The ACCC has ruled that it will not oppose the Vodafone/Hutchison merger

Vodafone and 3 Mobile have said that existing plans will remain in place for the next two years if the merger between the two companies (Vodafone and Hutchison) goes ahead.

This statement was made in advance of the ACCCs results of an enquiry into the proposed merger.

The ACCC findings are scheduled to be released on Thursday. The investigation was due to concerns about increased broadband prices for consumers as a result of the merger.

The merger plans were announced in February. The new, joint venture company, VHA Pty Ltd will have 6 million customers. Optus, the number two provider behind Telstra, currently have 7.6 million customers. This will equate to a 26% market share for the Vodafone, 3 Mobile merged company.

The merger will deliver a higher quality network with 3G coverage to about 95% of the population.

The network arrangement between 3 Mobile and Telstra to enable roaming on the Telstra Next G network will remain.