Vodafone Australia said that it has connected the areas comprising of the Hunter Valley and north coast region, west of the Blue Mountains, the south west, Snowy Mountains, south coast and Canberra, with high-speed 3G network, taking its 3G network coverage to 94 percent of the country’s population.

Herewith, Vodafone customers in the newly upgraded areas can access 3G data services for mobile Internet and e-mail on their mobile handset or laptop via Vodafone mobile broadband.

“Vodafone is committed to investing in its network to make state-of-the-art 3G services more accessible and affordable. Vodafone’s great value 3G services are now available to Australians living and working in regional cities and towns, as well as business travellers and holiday-makers who need to stay connected,” said Nigel Dews, CEO of Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA).

The network will operate on the 900MHz and 2100MHz spectrum, at a download speed of 3.6Mbps, said the company.

As a part of the up gradation, the network will also adapt to the 2G network to support EDGE technology.

However, Vodafone’s existing customers with a 2G mobile phone will continue to access voice and txt services as normal and can experience an increase in data speeds.

The network expansion has met the company’s deadline, set earlier this year after the company failed to meet its previous deadline of December last year.

Observing the occasion, Vodafone has announced unlimited free access to Facebook to all new and existing customers on their mobile phone until October 31, 2009.