Telecom promises “supercharged” 3G nationwide by month’s end

In a day of tit-for-tat claims over 3G upgrades, Telecom is now pledging to make its entire nationwide XT network ready for HSPA+ by the end of this month.

Read also: Vodafone, Sky TV poised to expand partnership

The telco is talking a full commercial roll-out, spokeswoman Rebecca Earl told NBR this afternoon.

Vodafone, on the other hand, has pledged to implement its own HSPA+ upgrade over 2010.

If Telecom does deliver, it will be highly symbolic, if nothing else: for the past few years, Vodafone has lead the 3G race.

HSPA+ is a souped-up version of the HSPA technology that underpins today’s Telecom and Vodafone 3G mobile networks. It promises to triple speed, making a broadband connection to a cellphone faster than landline DSL.

“We are on track to deliver HSPA+ across the XT Network by the end of the month,” said Ms Earl.

Telecom already has an HSPA+ enhanced version of its network in a working trial in Wellington and parts of the South Island, said Ms Earl.

A live demo will shortly take place in Auckland.

Telecom's first HSPA+ compatible device, the TT or "XT Turbo" USB stick, will cost $149 on a two-year, 8GB plan that costs $79.95 a month or (close your eyes, Commerce Commission) $69.95 if you have your landline with Telecom.

Yeah, but
More good measure - and in a dig at Vodafone’s HSPA+ demo in Auckland this morning (see NBR's report here) - Ms Earl added:

“Any HSPA+ test that’s not in a commercial network needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. It won’t give you an accurate feel for the speeds and quality that customers will experience daily.”

Can 2degrees hack the pace?
2degrees has begun to enable its network - which launched as 2G - for 3G, with data services to be rolled out over 2010. It remains to be seen if 2degrees will launch with HSPA, or move straight to the faster, more expensive HSPA+.

Today, a Vodafone insider - noting the Hautaki Trust’s failure, so far, to raise the $20 million needed maintain its 2degrees stake amid a fresh round of capital raising, noted:

“It’s expensive to stay in the game. You’ve got to keep putting chips on the table.”

2degrees has so far spend $250 million on its network in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. Telecom and Vodafone have both been left with little change from half a billion dollars after their respective nationwide 3G upgrades.

Telecom [NZX: TEL] says the cost of its HSPA+ upgrade is included in the cap-ex already allowed for its XT roll-out.