VODAFONE Hutchison Australia said it remained on track to switch on its metropolitan 4G network by June as it demonstrated the network running with peak speeds of 130Mbps.
The carrier, which has been struggling to repair its brand in Australia after mobile service problems prompted half a million consumers to walk from it, said its staff were already testing the network in key metropolitan areas.
Allen Didovich, Vodafone's technology program manager said 4G had been turned on at several hundred sites but that it would remain closed to commercial customers until the June launch.
"We're still rolling out sites but we've got a significant portfolio (switched on)," Mr Didovich said after a demonstration the network's capability.
Mr Didovich argued that the network, which will only operate in metropolitan areas using 1800Mhz spectrum, would be capable of performing better than current 4G networks as it uses contiguous 20MHz bands considered optimal for next generation LTE.
Vodafone said it would have around six or seven 4G devices ready to deploy for the commercial launch in June.
To assist its rollout effort the company said it would be conducting a closer survey of devices used by its customers to prioritise its 4G network build.
Customers currently using 4G devices including the iPhone 5 would not be able to roam to the network automatically once it was switched on without a software upgrade.
Vodafone's joint owners Vodafone Group and Hutchison Whampoa were expected to gamble over a billion dollars this year on investing in the network to win back customers from Optus and Telstra.
Ultimately, the overall investment that the pair could be called on to upgrade the network and restore faith in the brand could finally top $3bn.
The company said it had no plans to upgrade data speeds passed by 3G on its regional 900Mhz spectrum which it operates on infrastructure it shares with Optus. It said it would instead focus its efforts on improving mobile data speeds in capitals and major population zones by lifting its 850MHz network to 3.5G to run alongside its 1800Mhz 4G network.
Its 900MHz network would be limited to carrying 2G traffic in major metropolitan areas.
