The 3G network, initially launched in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, is the result of an upgrade to Telstra's pre-existing CDMA mobile network.
Dubbed Telstra Mobile Loop, the service will offer data speeds of up to 144 kbps--almost three times faster than dial-up Internet but far slower than the 384 kbps speeds promised by Hutchison on its 3G network called "3".
However, according to Ted Pretty, Telstra's group managing director of consumer and marketing, streaming video, which is incredibly bandwidth-intensive, is only about 2-5 percent of demand for 3G services.
"The cost of [rolling out the CDMA2000 1x] is equivalent to the interest cost of rolling out a whole new 3G network," he said.
Hutchison spokesperson Karen Mazor told ZDNet Australia its 3G network would be ready for launch by the end of March and availability would follow after the UK and Italy. However, she declined to provide specifics.
3 will be based on wideband-CDMA technology rather than the CDMA2000 1x technology used by Telstra, Mazor added.
Telstra hopes to snap up "early adopters" before Hutchison launches its network. "The benefit of releasing now is it will be Telstra that addresses the majority of this pent-up demand," said Ted Pretty, Telstra's group managing director of consumer and marketing.
The total cost of adding 3G capability onto Telstra's existing CDMA network was less than AU$150 million, according to Pretty. In comparison, Hutchison are believed to have invested around AU$3 billion in its Australian network.
There's a significant advantage of pricing within the premium range of the existing mobile market, Pretty said. Telstra is offering an AU$899 Samsung Rainbow, the CDMA equivalent of the Samsung SGH-T100, free with a 12- or 24 month plan.
Telstra offers a number of plans which include a portion of voice/SMS and a portion of 3G data. Applications that are available for download over the network range is priced between AU$3 and AU$10, including data charges. Other data transfers start at 20c for 20 Kb.
Telstra will continue rolling out the 3G network to other areas of Australia, and pointed out that 3G handsets will work on a normal CDMA network, but at slower rates.
Hutchison can't be too far off launching - they have just installed a couple of towers in my council area.