Hooray to Optus

In another forum I've been accused of being a Telstra-lover so to prove this is not the case I'd like to give Optus a big pat on the back for their recent announcement of $315m investment in expanding the coverage and speed of their HSPA network. Optus aims to reach 98% of the population by the end of 2009 and progressively give speeds of up to 42mbps.

So, Hooray. This will bring increased competition in the marketplace, offering greater choice and driving ongoing innovation of mobile services available to consumers.

This is a fairly predictable move by Optus, however while they are playing follow-the-leader behind Telstra, this is not necessarily a bad thing and as the challenger, this is what you'd expect. Thats my beef though, I don't think Optus has any other choice as the second-largest player in the market to match the technology evolution of its largest competitor, though kudos again to Optus for not waiting too long to do so.

However, if Optus don't start thinking about what mobile internet really means to their customers and to their business, they will struggle in the future. Just matching Telstra is not enough, Optus needs to innovate, not just replicate.

I love ALL mobile operators!