KEY POINTS:
Telecom launched a $15 million upgrade of its mobile broadband network yesterday, aimed squarely at the business market.
The company's chief operating officer, Simon Moutter, said the technology - called Rev A - will cover 70 per cent of the population by the end of next year, with an "emphasis first on business customers".
Rev A promises download speeds of 3.1 megabits per second and 1.8 megabits per second uploads which will allow for sending multimedia and other heavy-data files from mobiles, personal digital assistants and laptops.
The technology would compete directly with Vodafone's mobile 3G technology which has download speeds of 3.6 megabits per second and 384 kilobits per second uploads.
The upgrade of broadband technology was available to users in the Auckland CBD yesterday.
IDC telecommunications analyst Darian Bird said Telecom's challenge was ensuring the network and the data cards worked immediately, and that businesses would not be restrained by intermittent performance.
"Otherwise Vodafone will take its chance to make further ground in the corporate space," said Bird.
Telecom would use the six-fold boost in upload speeds to attract business customers.
"While consumers have more need for fast downloads, businesses typically have a more balanced use of uploads as well," said Bird.
"Although price will be important, service levels will be crucial. Businesses willing to adopt mobile broadband are more concerned with network uptime and speed than saving $5 a month on subscription fees."
Telecom general manager of business Martin Butler said the technology would compete with fixed broadband.
The faster uplink speeds would be ideal for people working remotely who needed to send big data files quickly, such as photographers and architects.
New Zealand was one of the first places in the world in which the Rev A upgrade would become available.
Moutter said there was a "fantastic race" going on between Vodafone and Telecom in the wireless world.
"I would like to see continued strong growth in the same way we have seen remote mobile working in business," said Moutter.
TELECOM'S REV
* A Telecom has launched a $15 million broadband upgrade of its CDMA mobile network called Rev A.
* The upgrade was carried out by Alcatel-Lucent which built and manages Telecom's mobile network.
* Rev A promises download speeds of 3.1 megabits per second and upload speeds of 1.8 megabits per second.
* The technology will allow for sending large data files from mobiles and laptops.
* Rev A prices include $49.95 for a gigabyte of data and $10 more for 2 gigabytes of data.
