Optus has committed to a $20 million investment to improve its mobile network across the Gold Coast in preparation for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The telco has revealed will build new mobile towers to improve coverage at two sites across Carrara Stadium, the Commonwealth Games Village, Currumbin and Main Beach.
Existing 62 mobile towers will be upgraded, the telco announced, with Optus 4G to improve capacity and customer experience.
More importantly, the telco promised to implement different mobile technologies outside its traditional towers in the region.
“We’re taking the approach that a broad range of technology solutions will provide the most consistent and versatile network coverage,” Optus vice president and executive lead for the Commonwealth Games, Ian Smith, said.
“Optus will introduce new in-building coverage at 10 venues across the Coast and upgrade a further 10 in-building networks already in place. We’ll also be looking to provide Cells on Wheels (CoWs), which are transportable towers that can be moved to busy locations to provide additional coverage and service,” said Smith.
“With 6,600 athletes and team officials in and around the field, track or pool, and 3,500 media covering all events, Optus technology will support the global broadcast and provide Games communications for every heat, match and final across every event at GC2018," said Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) Chairman, Peter Beattie AC.
Minister for the Commonwealth Games, Kate Jones, said the Optus investment will create close to 90 jobs.
“The enhancement of the Optus network will be warmly welcomed by local business, tourism, sport and education sectors all of whom will benefit from this investment before and after the Games,” Jones said.
According to Optus, this investment will deliver a first class network and mobile coverage for residents, business owners and visitors.
“We have undertaken significant network infrastructure investment across the Coast and today we are upping that investment as further demonstration of our commitment to improve coverage and customer experience," Optus' Smith said.
In July, Optus announced a partnership with Cisco to roll out network hardware for the Games, which included the connectivity of 25,000 devices.
Also last month, the telco announced a $1 billion investment towards he improvement and expansion of its mobile network in regional Australia. As part of this investment, Optus plans to build of 500 new mobile sites across regional and remote parts of Australia, capturing 114 sites under the Federal Government’s Mobile Blackspots Program.
Just days ago, the telco announced that 41 sites will be built or upgraded across the NSW Central Coast region, aiming to significantly improve mobile coverage across the region in an investment of $10.2 million.
