SYDNEY-Australian wireless carriers Optus and Vodafone Australia formalized an agreement first announced in August to share third-generation network sites and infrastructure across Australia.
The carriers plan to share more than 2,000 base stations nationally, and the network is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2005. The network will roll out initially in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra followed by Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and other regions.
“It has also been very important for us to minimize community and environmental impacts, and rather than building new sites, wherever possible re-using existing sites from the combined pool of existing Optus and Vodafone 2G sites,” said Grahame Maher, chief executive officer of Vodafone Australia.
The agreement encompasses both co-located sites and shared network sites. The network installed on shared sites will be held through an unincorporated joint venture between the parties, with each company owning a 50-percent interest in the assets, having access to 50 percent of the capacity and sharing the cost of building and operating the network.
The carriers said the shared network will be the first in the world to feature Nokia Corp.’s Multi-Operator Radio Access Network technology.
Optus estimates the cost of independently rolling out 2,000 3G base stations to cover Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide to be approximately $341 million. Under the joint venture, Optus estimates its capital expenditure will be reduced by $78.5 million in the first three years. Operating expenditure for maintenance, operations and site leases will be reduced by about $7.8 million per year.
Rival Australian carriers Hutchison 3G Australia and Telstra Corp. have also announced plans to share 3G infrastructure.<p
