Vodafone 3G network weakest in Sydney

Sydney's central business district and eastern suburbs remain some of the weakest points in Vodafone's 3G network for reception, with more than 2000 dropouts recorded in the past two months, according to a report to be sent to industry regulators this week.

Few minutes

"Clients repeatedly try to make calls only to have them disconnect or drop out afterwards a few minutes," the report reads. "The clients experiencing these problems are at times quite distressed as they are unable to contact their families when all is said and done of an emergency or accident. Other clients have determined the financial impact of delayed voicemail and the inability to make calls to be detrimental to their business."

Of the 12,000 individual complaints identified in the 30-page report, the vast majority stipulated users did not have phone or data reception in an area where coverage was expected.

The issue with continued upgrades to its network

Vodafone hopes to remedy the issue with continued upgrades to its network and an expanded 850MHz network throughout the year. The Sydney CBD is expected to be one of the areas to benefit from the plan, with three 850MHz base stations to be built in the area in 2011.

Brimo's report to the regulators suggests greater transparency and communication from the telco to clients over network issues, pointing to recent outages on the Skype network and on National Australia Bank's issues as examples of better crisis management.