Fed: Vodafone wins $25m tender for highway mobile coverage

AAP General News (Australia)
04-23-2001
Fed: Vodafone wins $25m tender for highway mobile coverage

CANBERRA, April 23 AAP - Vodafone has won a $25-million federal government contract
to provide continuous mobile phone coverage along major highways.

Communications Minister Richard Alston said Vodafone would extend its GSM network to
provide the coverage, promised as part of the proceeds from the second partial sale of
Telstra.

"While not a factor in the evaluation process, I believe that the selection of Vodafone
as the successful tenderer will spur Telstra to seek to match the Vodafone coverage, resulting
in two high quality mobile phone networks, providing consumers with improved service and
greater choice," Senator Alston said.

The contract covers 9,425 kilometres of highways, including: Melbourne to Adelaide
via the Western and Dukes Highways; Sydney to Brisbane via the F3, New England and Cunningham
Highways; Sydney to Adelaide via the Hume and Sturt Highways, and Sydney-Melbourne via
the Hume Highway.

There are approximately 10 million GSM users in Australia and 500,000 CDMA users.

Senator Alston said important features of Vodafone's offer included allowing other
GSM carriers to use the new base station and a promise to invest a large proportion of
its own capital in regional areas.

"The government recognises that access to mobile phones is an increasingly important
social, economic and personal safety facility for all Australians," he said.

"Our encouragement of a free, open and competitive telecommunications market is having
a beneficial effect on mobile services, with 97 per cent of Australians having mobile
coverage."

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KEYWORD: VODAFONE

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