By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON--Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. (TEL.NZ) will
begin rolling out its 4G network in October in Auckland, with the
network expected to be available in Christchurch and Wellington by
year-end, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
Auckland-based Telecom added it expects to have its 4G Network
live on around half its nationwide network during 2014 with the
network to be built by Huawei Technologies Co.(002502.SZ).
"Over the past three months we have been trialing Huawei's 4G
LTE (long-term evolution) technology in Auckland and Rotorua. Our
testing has encompassed some very exciting new developments like
carrier aggregation," said Telecom Chief Technology Officer David
Havercroft. Carrier aggregation allows users to use two different
spectrums simultaneously and provides increased speeds.
Telecom's move to a 4G network will allow it to compete with
other major mobile phone provider Vodafone New Zealand, a
subsidiary of Vodafone Group PLC (VOD, VOD.LN). Vodafone NZ already
has a 4G network in New Zealand's largest city Auckland with plans
to roll it out in Wellington and Christchurch later in 2013.
Telecom said it was also extending its network coverage in rural
areas.
Write to Lucy Craymer at lucy.craymer@wsj.com
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