Vodafone announces its 4G network – but it won’t be ready until next year

Vodafone has announced that it will upgrade its mobile network to 4G LTE, but users will have to wait until next year for the upgrade to begin.

According to CRN, the carrier will also begin offering 3G HSPA+ connections as of September, marketed as “3G+”, at speeds of up to 42 Mbps.

Telstra will have a significant head start over Vodafone’s network when it eventually launches, with the incumbent already claiming 300,000 devices connected to its network as of the start of June, and an uptake rate of 40,000 devices per week.

In February, Vodafone first announced that it was upgrading its 3G network to 3G HSPA+ (delivering similar speeds to Telstra’s Next G network), and that as part of its network equipment upgrade, it would be able to “switch on” a 4G upgrade in the future, after losing half a million subscribers during 2011.