Australian operators Telstra and Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) have revealed they will terminate their network sharing joint venture in 2012.
The operators will split assets from the 2100MHz shared network - known as the 3GIS network - and incorporate them into their own infrastructure, Telstra said.
A Vodafone spokesperson told TelecomAsia that the network assets on the network will be split more or less 50-50.
Telstra and Vodafone Australia entered into the venture in 2004, before Telstra built its Next G 3G network on the 850MHz band, and prior to Vodafone's merger with Hutchison Australia to form VHA.
“The coverage, speeds and services available on the Telstra Next G network are superior to the 2100MHz network so it made little sense to continue investing in the joint venture,” Telstra chief marketing officer Kate McKenzie said.
Telstra subscribers still using the older network will be unable to make video calls or watch mobile TV service Mobile Foxtel, but the dissolution of the partnership will not affect customers using the Next G network, she said.
The split is tentatively expected for August 31 2012, but may be brought forward to January 1 of that year if certain conditions are met.