Optus’ Coverage Maps Show Its Massive 700MHz 4G Rollout

When it paid $650 million for long-range 700MHz spectrum in 2013, we all knew that Optus would be putting it to good use for fast and expansive mobile network coverage — but we just didn’t know when. Optus’ new coverage map shows its future 4G Plus rollout zones, covering much wider areas around Australia’s capital cities.

If you check out the Optus Mobile Network Coverage page on Australia’s number two telco’s website, you’ll find that you’re able to set quite a few filters. You can choose to view current coverage, look for work being undertaken three months into the future, or look a little further ahead with a six month plan.

Click on the six month checkbox, and select a 700MHz-capable smartphone like the iPhone 6 Plus or LG G3, and you’ll see a beautiful thing: huge expanses of 4G 700MHz coverage in metropolitan areas.

This is distinct from Optus’s other next-gen 4G plan, where it already has carrier aggregation switched on for its existing 4G Plus network to double 4G download speeds. Telstra has the same carrier aggregation tech, but doesn’t have the same coverage just yet.

There are smaller build-outs on the existing 4G networks as well, but they’re not nearly as impressive as the comparatively vast range of the new 700MHz installations. Check out the maps for yourself here on Optus’ website.

If you’re in one of Australia’s capital cities, though, we’ve put together a quick list of the coverage you can expect as of the start of 2015 (that’s when these networks can be switched on by both Optus and other 700MHz competitor Telstra). Here’s Optus’ six month projected 700MHz coverage in Sydney, shown in pink. The existing 4G Plus (2300MHz) and 4G (1800MHz) network coverage is shown in purple:

Melbourne:

Brisbane:

Perth:

Adelaide:

Canberra:

Hobart:

Here’s a bonus. The coverage map also has an ‘outages’ button, which shows you all the towers in your area, and gives a pointer of any planned work or current tower failures. (And wow, there are a lot of towers in the Sydney CBD):

You can keep up with 700MHz rollout coverage by checking our 700MHz tag, and with next-gen 4G by checking our carrier aggregation tag.

[Optus]


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