Telstra confirms it will wholesale 3G

Telstra has officially confirmed that it will begin wholesaling its 3G network, and hopes to have telcos on-board within six months.

After months of speculation, Telstra confirmed to ZDNet Australia this morning that it has begun advising its wholesale customers that it is in the process of developing a 3G wholesale product, as reported by Communications Day.

"There is a lot of work that needs to be done before we are in a position to successfully launch 3G — but we are working through it, and we have let our customers know about our plans," Telstra said.

Telstra could not confirm details on speed, coverage, pricing or features at this stage, but said that it expects to have a product developed within six months.

"We anticipate the proposed solution will offer coverage and speed at least equal to other 3G post-paid offers currently available in the wholesale marketplace," the telco added.

"We have always said we could consider re-selling 3G if it was commercially viable, and this development flags that we are listening to our wholesale customers."

Although earlier reporting had speculated that Telstra would be wholesaling services on its much-lauded Next G network, Telstra clarified to ZDNet Australia that the 3G wholesale product would not be branded Next G, but would not say at this stage whether the 3G wholesale product would ultimately resemble the services offered on Next G.

Telstra is the only mobile network operator to not wholesale its network, as both Optus and Vodafone wholesale services to companies such as Dodo, iiNet, Internode, Red Bull and Woolworths.

Telstra said its account managers are currently in discussion with wholesale customers regarding how best to meet their needs and expectations for a 3G product.

Stay tuned to ZDNet Australia for more on this story as it develops.

Updated at 1:52pm, 23 September 2011: Telstra later clarified its earlier words, saying that when it spoke about not offering Next G services, it meant as a brand.