MELBOURNE, Australia-Vodafone indicated this week it is interested in buying Hutchison Telecommunications’ A$3 billion (US$1.7 billion) third-generation (3G) mobile-phone network in a bid to get an early foothold in Australia’s wireless data market.
The managing director of Vodafone Australia, Grahame Maher, was reported as saying the company would consider sharing capacity in the short term or buying a 3G network “if it became available” longer term ahead of building its own network.
Vodafone’s statement comes hard on the heels of Telstra’s recent 3G network launch. Hutchison plans to launch its 3G network in March. Hutchison declined to respond to Vodafone’s comments.
