No 4G modem plan at Vodafone

Vodafone Australia is unlikely to launch 4G modems for its new Long Term Evolution (LTE) network this year, focusing instead on smartphone users.

The carrier's 4G program manager, Allen Didovich, told a live discussion on Facebook yesterday that standalone mobile broadband services on the network, launched last week, aren't currently factored into short-term plans.

"We don't currently have any plans to launch 4G Modems in 2013," Didovich said.

"We are focussing on bringing a great experience to our existing smartphone customers. We find a lot of our customers are tethering their smartphone and using this as mobile broadband."

Vodafone representatives had previously given little indication of plans or timeliness for 4G modem availability.

There was better news for customers waiting for prepaid 4G products, with Didovich confirming they were currently being looked at internally.

"We will definitely have an update for customers later this year," he said.

Services are currently only being offered to a selection of existing postpaid users on the Vodafone mobile network.