Telstra today have announced that their new 700MHz network will go by the name of ‘4GX’, which joins Optus who have named their 2300MHz network ‘4G Plus’.
(you may remember this was quietly mentioned at the start of last month ;P)
Looks like @Telstra have quietly dubbed their 700mhz LTE network ‘4GX’ in the Sony Xperia Z3 announcement blog post http://t.co/zOHFs36TbC
— Beau Giles (@BeauGiles) September 30, 2014
The 700MHz network has started being trialled from earlier this year, and is gradually getting bigger ahead of the ‘big switch’ on January 1st, when the 700MHz spectrum is officially available for use across Australia.
With 4GX coverage already available in parts of Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and 10 regional centres, services will also go live in parts of Hobart and Brisbane this week.
There are already several 4GX compatible phones available for sale, including the iPhone 6 (and 6 Plus), iPad Air 2, HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S5, and the Sony Xperia Z3.
If you’re lucky enough to have a 4GX handset inside a 4GX coverage area, you’ll enjoy;
- Speed – 4GX category 6 devices can enjoy download speeds of between 2Mbps and 100Mbps, and those with 4GX category 4 devices can enjoy typical download speeds of between 2Mbps to 75Mbps.
- Extra 4G coverage – 4GX will boost in-building coverage for 4G services bringing speedy mobile web access to more offices, bedrooms and lifts. And in regional areas, 4GX can go further than Telstra’s existing 4G frequencies creating better 4G coverage.
- More 4G available for all – 4GX will double Telstra’s 4G bandwidth allowing people to enjoy their favourite content with fewer slowdowns, and everyone benefits; with increased bandwidth available on 4GX, freeing up more on the existing networks.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 will be on sale tomorrow on Telstra, and will be the first handset to support LTE Cat6 carrier aggregation – with the ability to pull dow download speeds of between 2Mbps and 100Mbps by combining the available 700MHz+1800Mhz frequencies.
The Nokia Lumia 830 also supports the new 700MHz frequency, which will be the first Windows Phone to do so, and will be available in Australia inNovember.
For more information, you can check out Telstra’s 4GX page on their site.