Telstra tops network quality study as customers join 4G fast lane

Telstra customers have access to Australia’s highest quality mobile network for voice calls, mobile data and text messaging according to a new study released today.

The news comes as Telstra confirmed its customers are now using more than 300,000 ultra-fast fourth generation smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband devices and it had switched on its 1000th 4G LTE base station.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Australian Wireless Network Quality Performance Study™ – which surveyed customers from Australia’s major mobile brands – ranked Telstra as providing the highest quality network for mobile phone users. The study surveyed consumer experiences with voice calls, messages, email and the mobile internet.

Warwick Bray, Executive Director, Telstra Mobile said Australia’s widespread adoption of smartphones meant mobile network quality had never been more important.

“We know that a great-performing mobile network is central to keeping our customers connected with the people and content they love when on the move. That's why we are constantly investing in our network to stay ahead of customer demand.

“In the last 12 months alone we upgraded more than 5,000 mobile base stations and became the first telco to offer ultra-fast 4G LTE connectivity to Australians – switching on our 1000th 4G LTE base station in Mackay Queensland just last week. Appetite for fast, reliable connectivity has never been so great and Telstra customers have taken up more than 300,000 4G devices to browse the mobile web faster, stream music and video with fewer interruptions and enjoy rich internet content traditionally reserved for PCs, ” Mr Bray said.

Mr Bray said the J.D. Power and Associates findings were consistent with customer feedback and Telstra’s regular network drive surveys which monitor network performance and allow Telstra to plan upgrades.

“Our customers tell us they choose Telstra for superior coverage, fewer dropped calls and because they can enjoy reliable mobile data on the move. The research findings confirm what our customers and drive surveys have told us for years and are a testament to the skill of our network engineering team which is among the most experienced in the world,” Mr Bray added.

As well as offering Australia’s highest quality network overall, the J.D. Power and Associates study found Telstra was rated highest for voice calls (with fewer dropped calls and more calls connected first try), highest for text messaging (with fewer text message failures and late text message notifications) and highest for mobile web performance (with fewer web connection errors and less excessively slow web loading).

About the Telstra Mobile Network

• The Telstra Mobile Network is Australia’s largest and fastest national mobile network covering over 99 per cent of the population and more than 2.2 million square kilometres – more than double the nearest 3G competitor, and more than the combined footprint of all other Australian 3G networks.

• Telstra introduced high-speed 4G services in September 2011 and has since expanded 4G coverage to more than 100 regional and metropolitan areas nationwide. Telstra offers seven advanced 4G products spanning smartphones (including the HTC Titan 4G which launches this week), mobile broadband devices and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 4G mobile tablet.

• The Telstra Mobile Network is underpinned by an optical fibre based, Ethernet enabled backhaul network to almost all sites delivering greater resilience and reliability.
• Telstra’s 24x7x365 network health monitoring and pro-active capacity management help to address network issues before they affect customers.
• The Telstra Mobile Network is supported by Australia’s largest, skilled and geographically located technical field force.

The JD Power and Associates 2012 Australian Wireless Network Quality Study is based on responses from more than 1,900 mobile customers across Australia. The study was fielded between February and March 2012.