SYDNEY, Australia-The first third-generation network-sharing agreement in Australia was announced between Telstra Corp. and Hutchison 3G Australia under a $316 million deal.
The companies will establish a jointly owned venture to own and operate Hutchsion 3G’s existing 3G network and fund future network development. Under the agreement, Hutchison 3G’s Australian network will become the core asset of the venture, and Telstra will pay Hutchsion $316 million under a fixed payment schedule in four installments starting in November.
Telstra, which already offers 1x EV-DO services on its CDMA network, will launch W-CDMA services in 2005 using the entire Hutchison 3G footprint of more than 2,000 base stations covering Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
The companies said they plan to significantly expand the network during the next three years.
“In light of announcements by Singtel/Optus and Vodafone that they intend to build their own 3G networks, this agreement recognizes that the interests of the industry and the nation are best addressed through this type of infrastructure-sharing agreement,” said Dr. Ziggy Switkowski, Telstra chief executive officer.
Telstra has been reported to be testing Flash-OFDM technology from Flarion Inc. as well.
